Doctor casts doubt on theory that Napoleon was poisoned

The emperor would not have lasted long if he had escaped his island of exile, researchers said.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Feb. 19, 2007.

Some conspiracy theorists believe Napoleon Bonaparte was poisoned with arsenic more than 185 years ago. Robert M. Genta, MD, believes they are wrong. He attributes the French emperor's demise to something less sinister -- stomach cancer.

Dr. Genta, a Texas pathologist, and fellow researchers came to the conclusion after analyzing original autopsy reports, Napoleon's medical history, memoirs from his doctors and other documents. Their findings appear in the January Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

Will their study finally let Napoleon rest in peace? Doubtful.

"The conspiracy theories will continue," said Dr. Genta, the study's senior author and a professor of pathology and gastroenterology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

After his defeat at the battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died in 1821 at age 52.

At the time, the autopsy reports listed gastric cancer as the cause of death. A 1938 study claimed that Napoleon's father died of stomach cancer, so he could have been predisposed to the disease. But in 1961, researchers discovered an elevated level of arsenic in Napoleon's hair, refueling rumors that he was poisoned.