The hobby of collecting hair might seem peculiar, but this strange practice has proven invaluable to modern historians equipped with DNA analysis techniques. Examining hair samples has provided historical insights that would have been impossible to obtain without disturbing the remains of the deceased. While DNA information has been crucial in settling lineage disputes, it has also revealed fascinating details about the lives and deaths of famous figures. Here are ten surprising things we’ve learned from the hair of well-known individuals—plus one cryptid.
Beethoven’s Illness
The incomparable composer suffered from more than just his well-documented deafness. His health issues were so severe that he requested doctors to study them after his death, which occurred at the relatively young age of 56. Beethoven frequently experienced stomach problems that remained a mystery long after he passed away. It’s believed that these issues sometimes hindered his ability to compose.
Nearly 200 years later, in 2023, a breakthrough was finally made when researchers extracted DNA from preserved locks of Beethoven’s hair. It required a substantial amount of hair—10 feet (3 meters) in total—and each strand had to be cleaned individually.
The tests revealed that Beethoven’s genetic predisposition to liver disease, combined with his alcohol consumption, could have caused his poor health and potentially resulted in fatal liver failure. They also discovered he had hepatitis B in his final months, although the mysterious cause of his deafness remains unsolved. [1]
Why George III Went Mad
England’s most famous mad monarch wasn’t always that way; his unusual behaviors were episodic. During his long reign from 1760 to 1820, King George III sometimes babbled nonsensically, assaulted people in his court, and experienced hallucinations. Outside these episodes, the king recognized his own madness, which moved him to tears. The cause of his inconsistent insanity remained a mystery after his death. Some suggested psychosis, others lead poisoning.
In 1969, one theory proposed that the king suffered from porphyria, a rare hereditary condition identified in the 20th century. Individuals with porphyria can experience confusion, hallucinations, paranoia, and other symptoms of mental illness. However, it’s caused by the insufficiency of a compound found in red blood cells. Only 10% of people with the genes for porphyria actually suffer from it, but known triggers include stress, sun exposure, and arsenic. The latter is particularly significant in this case.
In 2005, scientists tested surviving locks of the king’s hair and found elevated levels of lead and arsenic. Combined with the diagnosis of porphyria in some of his descendants, this offers a plausible explanation for the king’s illness. But where did the arsenic come from? Original physician’s notes revealed it was in his medicine, exacerbating his madness. [2]
Eva Braun’s Jewish Ancestry
Hitler might have unknowingly married a Jew—an ironic conclusion reached in 2014 by a team working on a controversial British documentary series. They analyzed hairs believed to belong to Eva Braun, Hitler’s long-time mistress and short-time wife. The hairs came from a brush found inside a monogrammed cosmetic case in Braun’s apartment, taken by an American intelligence officer after the war.
The analysis revealed that she possessed a specific genome strongly associated with Ashkenazi Jews. Many Ashkenazi Jews in Europe had converted to Catholicism by the 19th century, which could explain why neither Braun nor Hitler knew about her ancestry.
Although experts declared the hairbrush authentic, definitively proving that the hairs belonged to Eva Braun was impossible, as her surviving relatives refused to provide DNA samples. However, it’s highly probable they were hers, providing compelling evidence that challenges Hitler’s ideas of racial superiority. [3]
King Louis XVII Died in Prison
King Louis XVII was the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the French royals beheaded during the French Revolution. At eight years old, he technically became king of France immediately after his father’s execution but had already been imprisoned by the revolutionaries under appalling conditions. He died of tuberculosis at just ten years old.
Upon his death, Louis’s heart was removed from his body and stored in the Saint-Denis cathedral. For a long time, some people didn’t believe he had died, believing he had escaped his captors and produced heirs to continue the royal bloodline. If this had been proven true in the following centuries, it could have plunged France into a civil war between royalists and republicans.
However, in 2004, this theory was finally put to rest along with the unfortunate king himself. DNA analysis from a lock of Marie Antoinette’s hair and other samples from the boy’s family confirmed that the heart belonged to him and that he died in prison. Exactly 209 years after his death, he was given a proper burial ceremony at the cathedral, and his heart was laid to rest in the royal crypt with his parents. [4]
Why Elvis Died Young
While it’s widely known that Elvis Presley died of a heart attack, the cause of the attack, which killed the King of Rock n’ Roll at just 42, remained a mystery for decades. People were quick to blame his lifestyle, especially his overeating. Although this was certainly harmful, later evidence showed that this wasn’t the primary cause.
When what was believed to be Elvis’s hair (obtained from a friend of his barber) underwent DNA analysis, the results showed a mutation known to cause migraines, glaucoma, and obesity. These aligned with Elvis’s headaches, bad eyesight, and weight gain. Another, more concerning mutation was also identified, linked to heart muscle disease, causing thickening and weakening of the heart muscle.
Experts concluded that while his lifestyle didn’t help, it was most likely flawed DNA that killed the twentieth-century icon. [5]
Salvador Dali Had No Daughter
Having had no children at the time of his death in 1989, the eccentric Spanish surrealist painter left his fortune to the state and his wife’s foundation. Almost 20 years later, a tarot-card reader named Pilar Abel claimed she was Dali’s daughter. If true, she would have been entitled to about a quarter of his fortune. Naturally, the foundation controlling Dali’s estate was skeptical.
Abel’s evidence relied on her grandmother’s remarks that the man she thought was her father was not and that her birth father was a great artist, as well as her physical resemblance to the artist (minus the mustache, of course).
In 2017, a judge decided there might be some merit to Abel’s claims and ordered Dali’s body exhumed so that his DNA could be analyzed. Samples were taken from his hair, nails, and bones. It’s unknown whether the hairs came from his mustache. However, the embalmer confirmed that the famous facial feature was still intact all those years later. Ultimately, the results failed to prove that Salvador Dali was Pilar Abel’s father. [6]
Sitting Bull Has Living Relatives
While DNA is widely used in paternity tests among the living or recently deceased, 2021 marked the first time a DNA test was used to link a living person to someone who died long ago. Ernie LaPointe of South Dakota had long believed he was the great-grandson of Sitting Bull—the legendary Native American leader famous for his victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn—but many questioned LaPointe’s claim.
His path to vindication began 14 years earlier when the Smithsonian Museum gave him some of Sitting Bull’s hair, and a scientist from the University of Cambridge reached out after reading about it. The hair had degraded after being stored at room temperature for many years, making DNA extraction challenging.
The generation gap also presented difficulties—existing techniques for DNA analysis only worked up to the grandchildren’s generation. But after 14 years of research, the scientists confirmed LaPointe’s ancestry using a new method involving autosomal DNA, which has the dual advantage of not requiring much DNA to work and not being gender-specific. [7]
Where the Romanovs Were Buried
In 1991, nine skeletons were discovered in a pit in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Experts made an educated guess that the skeletons belonged to Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, three of their children, a doctor, and three servants, who had been brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. However, stronger evidence was needed to confirm whether the skeletons were those of the Romanovs, Russia’s last royal family.
By 1993, advances in DNA analysis techniques offered a solution, and samples from the bones were brought to Britain for testing. The location of the lab wasn’t the only reason the bones were taken to Britain—an important piece of the puzzle was a sample of the Duke of Edinburgh’s hair. His maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse, was the sister of the Tsarina.
Prince Philip provided blood and hair samples, along with two Romanov descendants. Mitochondrial DNA, passed through the maternal line, revealed a precise match between the Duke, the Tsarina, and the three daughters. The scientists concluded with 98.5% certainty that the bodies were those of the Romanovs, enough for historians to conclude how the Tsar and his family met their end. [8]
Charles Darwin’s Disease
The famous bearded biologist’s facial hair helped solve the mystery of his ill health after 130 years. Darwin suffered from stomach problems, diarrhea, skin issues, heart symptoms, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches throughout his life. Yet, the root cause remained undiagnosed and untreated despite 18 different doctors investigating it.
Some historians thought he had contracted a tropical disease on his voyages, while others suggested he was poisoned. However, both theories were disproven in 2014 when Darwin’s great-great-grandson allowed two of the famous scientist’s beard hairs to undergo DNA testing.
Scientists discovered that Darwin suffered from Crohn’s Disease, which was unknown during his lifetime. The DNA also provided insight into other traits of the great thinker, with his genes suggesting physical and characteristic attributes, such as baldness, thrill-seeking, and enhanced memory, all traits Darwin reportedly possessed. [9]
The Real Yeti
Yetis, also known as abominable snowmen, are furry, human-like creatures said to roam the Himalayas. Photos of giant footprints taken by Eric Shipton in 1951 brought them to the attention of the Western world. However, the legend is thought to originate with stories told to stop Nepalese children from wandering into the wild or with a Buddhist holy man who lived in a cave near Mount Everest 350 years ago, where the Yetis helped bring him supplies.
Since the 1950s, numerous Yeti relics, including hair, bones, skin, and feces, have been collected despite no confirmed sightings of the elusive creatures. In 2016, a team of scientists studied these items as part of a documentary. Although they tried to be open-minded, the scientists did a good job debunking the myth by examining mitochondrial DNA found in the samples.
This testing showed that the items came from Himalayan brown bears and Asian black bears. A 2014 genetic analysis of hair samples also showed them coming from polar bears and dogs. Although Yetis aren’t real, the studies did help scientists learn about the bears of the Himalayas, some of which are endangered. [10]
Conclusion
From uncovering the illnesses of historical figures like Beethoven and Darwin to debunking myths surrounding Eva Braun’s ancestry and the existence of the Yeti, hair analysis has revolutionized how we understand the past. These ten revelations highlight the power of modern science in providing answers to long-standing mysteries and reshaping our understanding of history.
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