Napoleon Bonaparte And Forensic Toxicology
👉 Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century.
Napoléon Bonaparte reportedly requested an autopsy as his dying wish:
“After my death I wish you to do an autopsy … make a detailed report to my son. Indicate to him what remedies or mode of life he can pursue which will prevent his suffering … This is very important, for my father died … with symptoms very much like mine.”
His personal physician, Francesco Antommarchi, performed the autopsy, which revealed unmistakable signs of stomach cancer.
👉 When Forensic Involved in Case of Napoleon’s death:
✍In June 2001 a forensic study of his hair confirmed that he was slowly poisoned to death. Pascal Kintz of the Strasbourg Forensic Institute in France studied hairs taken from the former emperor’s head after he died and found levels of arsenic seven to 38 times higher than normal. Kintz concluded this must be the result of poisoning.
✍Then an investigation carried out by another team of French forensic experts suggests that Napoleon died in less sinister circumstances. The new study, commissioned by the magazine Science et Vie, focuses on strands of hair taken from Napoleon in 1805, 1814 and 1821. All were found to have abnormally high levels of arsenic and the researchers conclude that poisoning could not have been the cause of death. “If arsenic caused Napoleon’s death, he would have died three times over,” says Ivan Ricordel, head of the toxicology at Paris Police headquarters, who led the investigation.
👉 How did arsenic get into the hair?
Researcher Says, The metal most probably came from a hair ointment, or perhaps gunpowder or wallpaper paste. Napoleon died in 1821 on the island of Saint Helena, where he was imprisoned after losing in battle to the British at Waterloo. A post-mortem suggested at the time that he died of complications caused by a gastric ulcer.
