Napoleon Poisoning Claims Debunked

Feb. 11, 2008 -- Napoleon Bonaparte did not die from arsenic poisoning, a new examination of the French emperor's hair has established.

The man who dominated much of Europe in the early 19th century died at age 52 in British-imposed exile on St. Helena in the south Atlantic, where he had been banished after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

For decades, scholars have debated how Napoleon met his early death on May 5, 1821.

The autopsy and conclusion of his personal doctor, Francesco Antommarchi, indicated that Napoleon died of stomach cancer.

But the veracity of Antommarchi's report was questioned in 1961, and more recently in 2001, when high arsenic levels were found in Napoleon's hair. Various theories of conspiracy, treachery and poisoning followed.

According to those claims, the former French Emperor was poisoned to prevent a return to power if he escaped exile.

Now, Italian scientists have repeated the hair testing using a small nuclear reactor. The study will be published in the March issue of the Italian journal Il Saggiatore.

Researchers from the universities of Pavia and Milan analyzed several hair samples that had been taken during different periods of Napoleon Bonaparte's life -- from when he was a boy in Corsica, during his exile on the Island of Elba, on the day of his death on the Island of Saint Helena, and on the day after his death.

Samples taken from Napoleon II (Bonaparte's son) in the years 1812, 1816, 1821 and 1826, and samples from Napoleon's wife the Empress Josephine, collected upon her death in 1814, were also analyzed.

In addition to those historical samples, obtained from various French and Italian museums, the researchers tested ten hairs taken from randomly selected people alive today.