Fragments of Beethoven's Skull Have Been Returned to Vienna

Skull fragments belonging to Ludwig van Beethoven have been returned to Vienna so that researchers may study them.

Throughout his life, the famed composer suffered from poor health including diabetes and pancreatitis before famously going deaf in his mid-20s. In 1827, he died at age 56 in Vienna of cirrhosis of the liver. He was adamant that his body be studied after his death.

The skull fragments, numbering around 12 in total, were discovered in 1990 by American businessman Paul Kauffman. He was in France after coming into an inheritance from his mother, part of which included a safety deposit box with unknown contents.

When Kauffman emptied the safe, he found an egg-shaped metal box with the word “Beethoven” etched on the side. Within the box were the skull fragments, including pieces from the right side of the forehead as well as the back of the head.

It's believed that Kauffman’s mother inherited the skull pieces from her great-uncle, Franz Romeo Seligmann. Seligmann was a Viennese doctor who reportedly had acquired pieces of Beethoven’s skull in 1863 after the composer’s body was exhumed for research purposes. For this reason, the skull fragments are often referred to as the “Seligmann fragments.”

Seligmann died in 1892, but never mentioned being in possession of the pieces. They only came to light in 1944, when Seligmann’s son mentioned in his own will that they had been kept in the egg-shaped box.

There’s been some debate around the authenticity of the Seligmann fragments. Apparently, the doctor was a somewhat prolific "collector of skulls." It’s believed that before Seligmann returned the bones for the composer’s reburial, he may have accidentally put a different person’s skull in the box reserved for Beethoven.

A study by Christian Reiter, M.D., however, determined that “there is no indication that the fragments did not originate from Beethoven’s skull.” Using a plaster cast of Beethoven’s cranium kept in Vienna’s Natural History Museum, it was found that the fragments would fit perfectly within their respective locations.

“I feel very privileged to be able to return my inherited Beethoven skull fragments to where they belong,” Kaufmann remarked in a statement. “Not only will they come ‘home,’ to where Beethoven now rests forever, but also to the Medical University of Vienna, which will have them available for research.”

Scientists are certainly doing their best to honor Beethoven’s last wishes. Earlier this year, researchers at Cambridge University used locks of the composer’s hair to determine that he not only suffered a hepatitis infection months before his death, but was genetically predisposed to liver disease.