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American Journal Of Forensic Medicine And Pathology

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MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2000

Article Recounts Specifics of Nuclear Activation Analysis

In 1995, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed through nuclear activation analysis the claim that Ben Weider and others had known to be true for years.

It was something Ben had researched for over three decades. In December 1999, the evidence compiled by Ben and his colleague, the late Sten Forshufvud, was published in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, the pre-eminent publication on forensic pathology read by thousands of doctors interested in pathology and forensic medicine throughout the world. What was printed? Scientific proof that Napoleon Bonaparte had been systematically poisoned by arsenic to cause his death.

Popular history has long contended that Napoleon died of natural causes; stomach cancer was the alleged culprit.

Some say the issue has been debated since Bonaparte's death on May 5, 1821. Others argue that the real debate began only with the unrelenting research of Ben Weider and Sten Forshufvud, a renowned toxicologist. Nuclear testing on authenticated hairs, which were retrieved from Napoleon's head within hours after his death by one of his valets, offered the final confirmation of many years' work. Publication of their findings, &uot;Activation Analysis of Authenticated Hairs of Napoleon Bonaparte Confirm Arsenic Poisoning&uot; in The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, is, indeed, the culmination of their efforts.

The article describes the specific results of nuclear testing, requested by Forshufvud and supported by Weider in 1960, of certain Napoleon hairs at the Harwell Nuclear Research Laboratory in London, England. The results of subsequent FBI testing in 1995, upon Weider's request, utilized graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy at the FBI Crime Laboratory. The first test offered evidence that correlated accounts of Bonaparte's fluctuating health with varying levels of arsenic in his hair.

Diaries of several of Napoleon's companions who shared the exile with him suggest acute bouts of illness during specific periods of time, which, over 170 years later, can be tied to periods of time when the arsenic level in his hair was more than unusually high -- it was sometimes as much as 4 1/2 times what would be considered an &uot;alert&uot; level today. Subsequent FBI tests reconfirmed the evidence and concluded that the amount of arsenic present in the submitted hairs is consistent with arsenic poisoning. Even the Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard said that, based on the evidence supplied by Weider, they would open a criminal case today.

According to the article, the arsenic was administered by Count de Montholon, one of Napoleon's most trusted aides, who was also his wine steward. He had the ability to add arsenic to the Emperor's private stock, from which only Napoleon himself drank. Montholon also influenced the attending physicians to prescribe unwittingly a lethal combination of substances that consummated the assassination by poisoning.

Weider commented, &uot;Interestingly, although arsenic kills, it also preserves the tissues. When Napoleon was exhumed in 1840 in order to bring his body back to Paris to be buried at `Les Invalides,' his body was noted to be very well preserved, and his skin still soft and was bronze in color. Until analysis of the hair samples, Napoleon's assassination -- almost the perfect crime -- had gone undetected.&uot;

Is This Just Splitting Hairs? Who Wants to Know?

The topic of Napoleon Bonaparte's demise has been the subject of intense debate among historians and scholars, as well as individuals interested in world history around the globe. Several books also have been devoted to the topic. Weider and Forshufvud co-authored the most detailed account, Assassination at St. Helena, published in 1978, and the subsequent, Assassination at St. Helena Revisited, published in 1995 by John Wiley &Sons, Inc. of New York, which also included the forensic evidence and pathology they had gathered over the years. This book was published in 41 languages and has sold over one million copies around the world. In Russia, the former Soviet Union, alone, there were seven edition published with over 400,000 copies sold.

Weider's passion for researching Napoleon's death came from the request of the Emperor himself, who warned of his own impending death in his private journal. He requested therein that the cause of his death be known, in order to make his son aware, so that he might take whatever precautions he could to prevent the same illness. Weider's book, entitled Napoleon; Est Il Mort Empoisonne?, which was recently published in Paris, presents the evidence from both sides in a court-like setting. (There is a small faction of French historians, who, despite the overpowering evidence to the contrary, continue to believe in the stomach cancer theory.) The book asks its readers to vote, after considering all the evidence, and includes a mail-in reply card. Of the responses to date, 97% voted in favor of the poisoning theory. The book also includes a Preface by Prince Charles Napoleon, the head of the Napoleon family. Over 5000 copies have been sold.

Who else wants to know? Members of The International Napoleonic Society, of which Ben Weider is International President and Prince Albert of Monaco is Honorary President. The Society is not open to the general public; its members include 400 historians in 25 countries who seek to research, discuss, and potentially correct historical information about certain phases of Napoleon's life. The Society holds symposiums and international meetings and publishes The International Napoleonic Scholarship Journal annually.

About Ben Weider

Ben Weider is internationally know in two fields: sports and Napoleonic history. In the sports field, Dr. Weider is President of the International Federation of Body-Builders (IFBB) and heads the Montreal-based Weider Nutrition Company, which is dedicated to promoting total fitness. His efforts over the last 52 years to obtain official Olympic recognition of Body Building as a sport were rewarded by the Olympic Committee in 1998. He has been honored by governments in over twenty countries and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. His honors include the Order of Canada, the highest award a Canadian can receive.

Dr. Weider is a close friend of Prince Charles Napoleon, who is the president of Le Souvenir Napoleonien in Paris. Dr. Weider owns one of the world's largest private collections of Napoleonic artifacts, which includes the bi-korn (hat) he wore during the Battle of Borodino, which took place in Russia in 1812. It is the only Napoleon bi-korn known to be padded on the inside, in order to protect the Emperor from catching a cold during the Russian campaign. After all, the bi-korn was usually made of simple felt.

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