New research goes against theories that he died of poisoning, overwork, or eating bad pork
One of the world’s greatest musical minds, Mozart, may have been brought down by a sore throat. For years, researchers have speculated about what killed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 35. But now, researchers at the University of Amsterdam think they’ve found the true culprit: a strep infection. The Amsterdam team collected historical accounts of the musician’s symptoms, and compared them to more than 5,000 reported cases of illness at the time of his death. “Our analysis is consistent with Mozart’s last illness and death being due to a streptococcal infection leading to an acute nephritic syndrome caused by poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis,” the report explained. Researchers damaged his kidneys. Previously, popular theories behind the maestro’s death included poisoning, overwork, and eating bad pork.