Possibly Poisoned

1791: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Speculating on the death of WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART has been a popular medical pastime for over 200 years. The genius composer was only 35 when he died in 1791 after a mysterious illness marked by fever and painful swelling. No autopsy was performed, and Mozart's death was ascribed to "military fever." It didn't take long for rumors of poisoning to begin, many of them pointing the finger at Mozart's rival composer (and former teacher) Antonio Salieri. Mozart's widow Constanze even told friends that Mozart himself had had a premonition that he would be poisoned.

Other causes have been suggested over the years, including scarlet fever, kidney stones and pneumonia. In 2000 a California professor of medicine, Dr. Faith Fitzgerald, proposed that Mozart may have died from rheumatic fever; the next year Dr. Jan. V. Hirschmann of Seattle wondered if he had died from trichinosis acquired by eating undercooked pork cutlets. In 2009, a Dutch study suggested strep throat.

Alas, the truth will probably never be known.  Mozart's grave was later dug up for re-use (a common practice of the time) and the bones were scattered, which ruined any chance for modern chemical analysis of his remains.