This is a list of famous historical figures diagnosed with or strongly suspected as having had syphilis at some time. Many people who acquired syphilis were treated and recovered; some died from it.
Many famous historical figures, including Charles VIII of France, Christopher Columbus, [2] Hernán Cortés of Spain, Benito Mussolini, and Ivan the Terrible, [2] were often alleged to have had syphilis or other sexually transmitted infections. Sometimes these allegations were false and formed part of a political whispering campaign. In other instances, retrospective diagnoses of suspected cases have been made in modern times. Mental illness caused by late-stage syphilis was once a common form of dementia. This was known as the general paresis of the insane.
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| Cesare Borgia (1475–1507), Italian Cardinal | Strongly suspected of having syphilis |
| Gerard de Lairesse (1641–1711), Dutch painter and art theorist | Congenital syphilis |
| Edward Teach (1680–1718), West Indian pirate | Better known as Blackbeard. Died in battle against Robert Maynard [3] |
| Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (1721–1773), Prussian cavalry lieutenant general | Died from syphilis [4] |
| Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), Italian opera composer | Neurosyphilis [5] |
| Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), French poet [6] | |
| Lola Montez (1821–1861), Irish dancer, courtesan, mistress of Ludwig I | Died from syphilis [7] |
| Leland Stanford (1824–1893), American politician & robber baron | Retrospectively diagnosed or suspected to have died of syphilis. [8] |
| Camilo Castelo Branco (1825–1890), Portuguese writer | Died by suicide on account of blindness caused by neurosyphilis. |
| Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), Russian writer | Suspected to have had syphilis [9] |
| Alphonse Daudet (1840–1897), French novelist | |
| Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), German philosopher | Cause of death disputed, but syphilis or mercury poisoning from syphilis treatment are leading theories. |
| Franz Schubert (1797–1828), German composer | Cause of death disputed, but symptoms match to mercury poisoning from syphilis treatment. [10] |
| Robert Schumann (1810–1856), German composer | Acquired syphilis from a prostitute at the age of 21. [11] |
| Bram Stoker (1847–1912), Irish author | Cause of death listed as "Locomotor ataxia 6 months", presumed to be a reference to syphilis. [12] [13] |
| Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893), French writer [14] | |
| Tongzhi Emperor (1856–1875), Emperor of Qing Dynasty | Suspected to have had syphilis[ citation needed ] |
| Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), Russian painter [15] | |
| Frederick Delius (1862–1934), English music composer | Died from syphilis [16] |
| Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), French painter [17] | |
| Eugen Sandow (1867–1925), German bodybuilder | Suspected to have had syphilis [18] [19] |
| Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Soviet politician | Retrospectively diagnosed or suspected to have died of syphilis. [20] |
| Karen Blixen (1885–1962), Danish writer [21] | |
| Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), German dictator | Suspected to have had syphilis [22] [2] [23] |
| Al Capone (1899–1947), American gangster | Died from syphilis [24] |
| Lavrentiy Beria (1899–1953), Soviet politician & serial rapist | Admitted before his execution he had been treated for syphilis. |
| Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900–1954), American blues singer | Died from syphilis [25] |
| Howard Hughes (1905–1976), American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist and pilot. | Diagnosed with neurosyphilis in 1932. [26] |
| Idi Amin (1928–2003), Ugandan dictator [27] |