Unraveling Beethoven's Life and Death through His Hair and DNA

A genome research study led by a former docent at San Jose State University's Beethoven center has debunked the authenticity of a lock of hair believed to belong to the famous composer. The hair, named the "Hiller Lock," was found to belong to an unidentified woman with Jewish heritage. The findings were published in the journal Current Biology and also authenticated five other locks of hair. The Beethoven center houses the largest collection of Beethoven materials outside of Europe and previously had fragments of a skull believed to belong to Beethoven discredited in 2016.