List of syphilis cases explained

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, Hernán Cortés of Spain, Benito Mussolini, and Ivan the Terrible, 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 pirateBetter known as Blackbeard. Died in battle against Robert Maynard[1]
Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), Italian opera composerNeurosyphilis[2]
Tongzhi Emperor (1856–1875), Emperor of Qing DynastySuspected to have had syphilis
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), writerSuspected to have had syphilis[3]
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopherCause of death disputed, but syphilis or mercury poisoning from syphilis treatment are leading theories.
Frederick Delius (1862–1934)Died from syphilis[4]
Karen Blixen (1885–1962)[5]
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)Suspected to have had syphilis[6] [7] [8]
Al Capone (1899–1947)Died from syphilis[9]
Eugen Sandow (1867–1925), bodybuilderSuspected to have had syphilis[10] [11]
Idi Amin[12]
Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (1721–1773), Prussian cavalry lieutenant generalDied from syphilis[13]
Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), Russian painter[14]
Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900–1954), blues singerDied from syphilis[15]
Charles Baudelaire, French poet[16]
Alphonse Daudet (1840–1897), French novelist
Guy de Maupassant, French writer[17] The big one! [''J'ai la vérole! enfin! la vraie!''] ... I have the pox [...] and I am proud of that by GodAnd I have the greatest contempt for the bourgeois." (Guy de Maupassant, Letter to Robert Pinchon aka LaToque, 2 March 1877.)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter[18]
Camilo Castelo Branco (1825–1890), Portuguese writerDied by suicide on account of blindness caused by neurosyphilis.
Cesare BorgiaStrongly suspected of having syphilis
Lola Montez (1821–1861), dancer, courtesan, mistress of Ludwig IDied from syphilis[19]
Leland Stanford (1824-1893), politician & robber baronRetrospectively diagnosed or suspected to have died of syphilis.[20]
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), politicianRetrospectively diagnosed or suspected to have died of syphilis.[21]

Notes and References

  1. Sands . K. . Dennis . M. . Venkatesh . R. . Fr02-06 Down the Chute . The Journal of Urology . 2020 . 203 . 203 . 293–294 . 10.1097/JU.0000000000000851.06 . 218949508 . subscription .
  2. Peschel . E. . Peschel . R. . Donizetti and the music of mental derangement: Anna Bolena, Lucia di Lammermoor, and the composer's neurobiological illness. . The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine . 1992 . 65 . 3 . 189–200 . 1285447 . 2589608 .
  3. Book: Tolstoy: A Biography. Wilson, A. G.. Norton. 2001. 0-393-32122-3. New York.
  4. Web site: Frederick Delius Biography Sublime Music, Tragic Life. Favorite Classical Composers. 2011-05-30.
  5. Donelson, Linda (1998). Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa. Coulsong. .
  6. News: Did Hitler Have Syphilis?. Medical News Today. 2010-10-02. 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..
  7. Book: Pox: Genius, Madness, And The Mysteries Of Syphilis. Hayden, Deborah. 4 August 2008. Basic Books. 978-0786724130. 50725392.
  8. Retief . Francois . Wessels . A. . Did Adolf Hitler have syphilis? . South African Medical Journal . 22 December 2005 . 95 . 10 . 750–753 . 16341329 .
  9. Book: Bergreen, Laurence. Capone: The Man and the Era. registration. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. 1994. 978-0-684-82447-5. New York.
  10. News: Eugen Sandow—Father of Bodybuilding. Tithonus. Pednuad, J.. 2008-09-17. The Human Marvels. 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..
  11. Book: St. James encyclopedia of popular culture. Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. St. James Press. 2000. 978-1-55862-404-7. ... speculates that the strongman's death may have been the result of an aortic aneurysm brought about by syphilis..
  12. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/18/guardianobituaries Idi Amin
  13. Lawley, Robert Neville (1852). General Seydlitz, a Military Biography. W. Clowes & Sons, pp 178–179.
  14. Book: Vrubel. V.M Domiteeva. Molodaia Gvardiia. 2014. 978-5-235-03676-5. Zhizn' zamechatel'nykh liudei. Moscow. 413. ru. 1458.
  15. Web site: Texas Alexander. Thebluestrail.com. 2015-08-30.
  16. C. Pichois and J. Ziegler, Charles Baudelaire, new edition, Paris: Fayard, 2005, p. 224–229; M. Monnier, "La maladie de Baudelaire", in C. Pichois ed., Baudelaire: études et témoignages, Neuchâtel, 1976, p. 219–238.
  17. Maupassant died at age 43 of syphilis he had acquired 16 years previously. (Bruno Halioua, "Comment la syphilis emporta Maupassant", La revue du praticien, 30 June 2003.) When he first learned he had caught the disease Maupassant actually rejoiced, writing to a friend: "I have the pox! Finally
  18. Web site: Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec Biography. toulouse-lautrec-foundation.org. 18 September 2016.
  19. Cannon, M. (1974). "Montez, Lola (1821–1861)". Montez, Lola (1818–1861). Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 5. Australian National University. https://web.archive.org/web/20121126203945/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/montez-lola-4226
  20. Web site: Kinyon . Jon . Leland Stanford: The Robber Baron's Troubling History . Powerless Press . January 1, 2022 . Leland’s sudden demise, considered to be the result of untreated syphilis.
  21. News: Chivers . C. J. . A Retrospective Diagnosis Says Lenin Had Syphilis . The New York Times . June 22, 2004.

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