Researchers recently made significant discoveries regarding Beethoven’s genetic material. Read this post for more on what they have discovered as well as how to identify whether or not you are related.
This Beethoven DNA study is remarkable for many reasons, such as its publication and inclusion into an accessible database by an industry giant – so his living relatives can discover their relationship to this legendary composer.
How did scientists obtain Beethoven’s DNA from his hair?
For many years, scientists were only able to obtain nuclear DNA from hair samples if both roots and hair strands were included. Unfortunately, often when hair is cut but not plucked out the root remains attached but is no longer accessible for extraction.
Ed Green made headlines in 2019 when he developed a method to extract DNA from strands of hair without roots – an incredible breakthrough that was welcomed by scientists, law enforcement officers and genealogists alike.
Now, the method used to extract DNA from rootless strands of hair involves dissolving it in a special solution and collecting pieces of genetic material that have been shed into solution – much like piecing together a puzzle. Once enough DNA has been acquired, all pieces can be pieced back together – much like solving one.
As DNA in rootless hair can be fragmented into smaller pieces, in order to achieve an adequate sample, more hair than expected is often necessary to obtain an accurate reading of its DNA profile. In this particular study, they required more than 10 feet total – something they were miraculously able to accomplish!
All this new research into Beethoven’s life, illness and ancestry represents history coming full circle. Beethoven himself requested almost 200 years ago that scientists study his body to gain any information they could on its conditions – particularly his hearing loss.
How did they know it was really Beethoven’s hair?
Researchers were able to acquire and test eight samples of Beethoven’s hair that came from various sources. Five were identified as belonging to one individual male while two samples had reliable documentation linking back to Beethoven as its source.
Researchers, as they state in their report on the Beethoven DNA study, were convinced that all five samples taken from one male belong to Beethoven; historical accounts indicate this by multiple people requesting locks of Beethoven’s hair after his death.
Though it might sound bizarre to us living in 2023, giving away locks of hair was quite common during Beethoven’s life and thereafter. Many gave away locks as keepsakes or for memorializing recently deceased loved ones.
Later in the 19th century, it became fashionable to create jewelry using human hair as an ingredient.
Who Was Beethoven and What Is Their MtDNA Haplogroup? In this study, Beethoven’s direct maternal haplogroup has been revealed as H1b1+16,362C; Haplogroup H1 is extremely prevalent across Europe while H1b subclade may have origins in ancient Eastern European populations.
What was Beethoven’s Y-DNA haplogroup? Researchers determined that Beethoven belonged to I-FT396000 haplogroup which likely formed during medieval Europe from an Eastern or Central European origin.
Do they test Beethoven’s autosomal DNA?
Absolutely. Their analysis included extensive testing of Beethoven’s autosomal DNA to gain information on his recent ancestry as well as provide an estimated “ethnicity estimate”.
Below you will see that the brighter yellow and orange colors represent where his DNA results indicate his ancestry comes from, while white circles represent his known genealogical ancestors.
Due to his widespread fame both during and posthumously, Beethoven’s ancestry has long been the source of speculation. Although this particular image doesn’t reveal each member of his family tree individually, it does indicate that his ancestors likely came from regions within Europe similar to where Beethoven believed they originated from.
Researchers also used Family Tree DNA to gain an insight into Beethoven’s likely ancestral origins by accessing his autosomal DNA matches and studying Family Finder results of those closest genetic relatives of Beethoven. By doing this research they learned some details about Beethoven’s ancestry that may shed further light upon him and his work.
Are Researchers Available for Beethoven DNA Analysis? Thanks to Family Tree DNA, researchers were able to use his genetic material as part of its DNA results database, making his DNA available for anyone taking tests with them or uploading samples directly on their website to check if they may be genetically related to Beethoven.
Finding out If You Are Related to Beethoven through DNA
If you have taken an autosomal DNA test or uploaded to Family Tree DNA, log in immediately and see if Beethoven shows up as one of your DNA matches. Customers of FTDNA who have tested mtDNA or Y-DNA can also log in and view all their matches – which may lead you closer to Beethoven!
Note that Beethoven will only appear in our list if we match him; unfortunately, I was unable to do this and therefore his details did not show up on my Family Finder list.
Anyone who has taken a DNA test with 23andMe (V3 or later), Ancestry or MyHeritage (2019 or later), and upload it for free to Family Tree DNA can download their results and upload them here for matching purposes. Results typically take a few days; if Beethoven was related to you distantly he may show up as a match!
And of course, if you want to know whether or not Beethoven shares either maternal or paternal haplogroups with you, Family Tree DNA offers tests. If he shares one with you directly through maternal or paternal line ancestors (mtDNA or Y-DNA haplogroup), that could indicate a possible genetic connection spanning back several generations or further still.
Did Beethoven really look like Van Beethoven? Extra pair paternity events, also known as non-paternity events, may be revealed through DNA testing. A DNA tester might learn that either one of their parents was not biological parents for them; or find similar discoveries further back in their family tree.
Researchers discovered through Y-DNA analysis, which examines direct paternal ancestry lines, that Beethoven may not have biological ties with any of his paternal ancestors; one working hypothesis being that Johann van Beethoven did not descend directly from Ludwig van Beethoven, his grandfather.
They were able to ascertain that Beethoven was not genetically connected with the van Beethoven lineage by conducting DNA tests on known descendants who shared his exact Y-DNA haplogroup number.
Help researchers learn more from Beethoven’s DNA by uploading our own to Family Tree DNA or taking an autosomal, mtDNA or Y-DNA test from them. As more DNA matches appear for Beethoven, skilled researchers will have more chances to piece together his biological family tree.
Conclusion I hope that this article on Beethoven’s DNA analysis has been informative, and that you consider taking steps to see if you match up with him too. Perhaps like me, you will discover long-lost Beethoven relatives!
If there are any queries or you find something relevant in this article that has piqued your curiosity about Beethoven, please join the discussion thread below and share your insights.
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