Beethoven's skull identified
(sundaytimes)
Updated: 2005-11-18 13:52

Genetic testing had revealed that chunks of bone at a Ludwig van Beethoven centre in California came from the skull of the revered composer, the centre said today.

Composed ... a reconstruction using fragments of the skull of Ludwig van Beethoven / [AP]

"When I found out, I could barely contain myself," said William Meredith, director of the Ira Brilliant Centre for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University.

DNA from the bones was compared to that of strands of Beethoven's hair, according to the centre.

The two bone fragments belonged to Northern California descendants of Romeo Seligmann, who was a doctor in Vienna in the late 1800s, the centre reported.

Dr Seligmann got the bones in 1863 during an exhumation of Beethoven's body, according to the centre. How Dr Seligmann received "the gift" was unclear, but the bones were reportedly among pieces of skull broken during an autopsy.

The bones were passed from generation to generation, travelling from Vienna to France and then the US, according to the centre.