Elemental contents in Napoleon's hairs cut before and after his death: Did Napoleon die from arsenic poisoning?

Full text: The debate on the cause of Napoleon's death became an interesting subject four decades ago when high concentration of arsenic was found in his hair and the arsenic poisoning was suggested to be responsible accordingly. This work reports INAA results for 19 elements (Ag, As, Au, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe, Hf, Hg, K, La, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, W, and Zn) in Napoleon's hairs collected at different times and places: two pieces cut the day after his death on Island St. Helena (6 May, 1821) and two pieces cut seven years earlier during his first exile on Island Elba (1814). Elevated As contents were found in all the hairs. Apparently, the finding of high As contents in his hairs collected seven years before his death is not favourable for the As poisoning theory, because the murder was assumed to have been carried out on the Island St. Helena. High content of Sb was found only in his hairs cut on St. Helena, which is apparently a coincidence to a documented event that he was frequently given tatar emetic in two months before his death. Mercury content in all determined hairs was found in the normal range. High concentrations were found also for elements Ag and Au in his hairs. For direct comparison, elemental contents in four hairs collected just before analysis from a man and a woman living in Berlin were presented. (author)