From PETER LEWIN
I read with interest the recent article relating to the finding of only
trace elements of arsenic in Napoleon’s hair at the time of his death (This
Week, 24 September and Letters 22 October).
I was especially pleased with these findings as they corroborated the work
that my colleagues and I did in 1982. With the use of neutron activation
analysis on documented strands of Napoleon’s hair, we also came to the
conclusion than Napoleon did not die of arsenic poisoning. We felt that the
trace amounts of arsenic was probably due to the medication he was being given
at the time (tartar emetic). These findings were reported in Nature in 1982
(vol 299, p 627).
HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN, TORONTO
