Current:Home > StocksFragments of what's believed to be Beethoven's skull were in a drawer in California for decades-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Fragments of what's believed to be Beethoven's skull were in a drawer in California for decades
View Date:2024-12-23 20:22:22
CARMICHAEL, Calif. – Bone fragments believed to be from 18th-century composer Ludwig van Beethoven have made their way back to Vienna after living in a locked drawer of a home in Carmichael, California, for the past 30 years.
Paul Kaufmann's remarkable journey in taking possession of the curios began in 1990 following the death of his mother.
She lived in a town in the south of France. After traveling there and going through her belongings, he would find a key — and that key would not only open a safety deposit box, but inside reveal a second box full of mysteries.
"A black tin container, actually, with a lid, and scratched on the surface … was the name Beethoven," Kaufmann said.
Inside, wrapped in tissue, were fragments of a skull thought to belong to one of the greatest composers the world has ever known.
"Surprise and wonderment. What is this all about?" Kaufmann said.
For the next 30 years, Kaufmann tried to answer that question.
He traveled back to the states with the skull in his suitcase and began researching, finding help from top scholars in San Francisco and San Jose.
"We later learned that the investigators were very excited about it," Kaufmann said.
Researchers would find a connection to Kaufmann's great-great-uncle, a Viennese physician named Dr. Franz Romeo Seligmann, who was also a medical historian and anthropologist.
Dr. Seligmann apparently received the bone fragments in 1863 after Beethoven's body was exhumed for research in part to try to learn what made the composer go deaf in one ear.
But technology of the time was limited and research went cold.
"And it was then handed down, all these 170 years, to me as the only survivor in the family," Kaufmann said.
It was just in the past week Kaufmann traveled to the Medical University of Vienna to return the fragments as a donation.
They're now known as the "Seligmann Fragments."
"It's totally exhilarating," Kaufmann said. "I can look up at the sky and see my mother and all my relatives so happy they're back to Vienna where they belong."
A portion of the bone fragments is also going to a DNA lab for further inspection, but researchers at the Medical University in Vienna already believe it to be authentic.
- In:
- Sacramento County
- Carmichael News
- Austria
veryGood! (134)
Related
- What Republicans are saying about Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general
- Travis King charged with desertion for crossing into North Korea
- AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean
- Month after pig heart transplant, Maryland man pushing through tough physical therapy
- Bodyless head washes ashore on a South Florida beach
- 'Old Dads': How to watch comedian Bill Burr's directorial debut available now
- In Lebanon, thousands are displaced from border towns by clashes, stretching state resources
- How a hidden past, a name change and GPS led to Katrina Smith's killer
- 'Climate change is real': New York parks employee killed as historic drought fuels blazes
- Former Florida lawmaker who penned Don't Say Gay bill sentenced to prison over COVID loan fraud
Ranking
- Relive Pregnant Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's Achingly Beautiful Romance
- AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean
- Affordable Care Act provisions codified under Michigan law by Gov. Whitmer as a hedge against repeal
- U.S., Israel say evidence shows Gaza militants responsible for deadly hospital blast
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- Former State Dept. official explains why he resigned over US military aid to Israel
- He was rejected by 14 colleges. Then Google hired him.
- Will Smith calls marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith a 'sloppy public experiment in unconditional love'
Recommendation
-
Controversial comedian Shane Gillis announces his 'biggest tour yet'
-
Oklahoma attorney general sues to stop US’s first public religious school
-
DeSantis will call Florida lawmakers back to Capitol to impose new sanctions on Iran
-
Americans don't trust social media companies. Republicans really don't, new report says.
-
Katherine Schwarzenegger Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Pratt
-
Costco hotdogs, rotisserie chicken, self-checkout: What changed under exiting CEO Jelinek
-
Man previously dubbed California’s “Hills Bandit” to serve life in a Nevada prison for other crimes
-
Hearing in Trump classified documents case addresses a possible conflict for a co-defendant’s lawyer
Like
- NFL Week 10 injury report: Live updates on active, inactive players for Sunday's games
- Natalee Holloway fought like hell moments before death, her mom says after Joran van der Sloot's murder confession
- Democrats denounce Gov. Greg Abbott's razor wire along New Mexico-Texas border: 'Stunt' that will result in damage