This is a list of famous historical figures diagnosed with or strongly suspected as having had syphilis at some time. Many people who acquired syphilis were treated and recovered; some died from it.
Many famous historical figures, including Charles VIII of France, Christopher Columbus,[2] Hernán Cortés of Spain, Benito Mussolini, and Ivan the Terrible,[2] were often alleged to have had syphilis or other sexually transmitted infections. Sometimes these allegations were false and formed part of a political whispering campaign. In other instances, retrospective diagnoses of suspected cases have been made in modern times. Mental illness caused by late-stage syphilis was once a common form of dementia. This was known as the general paresis of the insane.
Name | Details |
---|---|
Edward Teach (1680–1718), West Indian pirate | Better known as Blackbeard. Died in battle against Robert Maynard[3] |
Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), Italian opera composer | Neurosyphilis[4] |
Tongzhi Emperor (1856–1875), Emperor of Qing Dynasty | Suspected to have had syphilis[citation needed] |
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), writer | Suspected to have had syphilis[5] |
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopher | Cause of death disputed, but syphilis or mercury poisoning from syphilis treatment are leading theories. |
Frederick Delius (1862–1934) | Died from syphilis[6] |
Karen Blixen (1885–1962)[7] | |
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) | Suspected to have had syphilis[8][2][9] |
Al Capone (1899–1947) | Died from syphilis[10] |
Eugen Sandow (1867–1925), bodybuilder | Suspected to have had syphilis[11][12] |
Idi Amin[13] | |
Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (1721–1773), Prussian cavalry lieutenant general | Died from syphilis[14] |
Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), Russian painter[15] | |
Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900–1954), blues singer | Died from syphilis[16] |
Charles Baudelaire, French poet[17] | |
Alphonse Daudet (1840–1897), French novelist | |
Guy de Maupassant, French writer[18] | |
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter[19] | |
Camilo Castelo Branco (1825-1890), Portuguese writer | Died by suicide on account of blindness caused by neurosyphilis. |
Cesare Borgia | Strongly suspected of having syphilis |
Lola Montez (1821-1861), dancer, courtesan, mistress of Ludwig I | Died from syphilis[20] |
An encounter with a Jewish prostitute in Vienna in 1908 may have given Hitler neuro-syphilis and provided the 'deadly logic and blueprint for the Holocaust' as well as giving him a reason to attempt to eliminate the mentally retarded, according to evidence presented at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
At the time of his death in 1925, a cover story was released stating Sandow died prematurely at age 58 of a stroke shortly after pushing his car out of the mud. The actual cause of death was more likely due to complications from syphilis.
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... speculates that the strongman's death may have been the result of an aortic aneurysm brought about by syphilis.