# Scheele's Green may have contributed to Napolean's death [[Scheele’s Green]] was popular at the time of Napolean's reign and exile. The wallpaper used where he was imprisoned on St. Helena used [[Scheele’s Green]], and the hot and damp environment could have caused the wallpaper to vaporize and release arsine gas. However, a 2008 study suggests that Napoleon had consistently high traces of arsenic in his system throughout his life, given how common it was after 1775. > Although his physician had initially suspected stomach cancer, when Napoleon’s body was exhumed in 1840 it was found to be curiously well preserved, a symptom of arsenic poisoning. A sample of his hair, tested in the twentieth century, was also found to contain abnormally high levels of the poison. Once it was discovered in the 1980s that the walls of his damp little room in St. Helena were papered with a verdant design containing Scheele’s green, the rumor spread that the British had poisoned their difficult prisoner. > [[stclair2016SecretLivesColour|St Clair, K. (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour.]] > In order to finally settle the question of Napoleon’s death, [researchers at Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics] tested other samples of hair from different stages of his life, and found that the levels of arsenic had remained relatively stable. They were, yes, very high by today’s standards, but not at all unusual for his. > [[stclair2016SecretLivesColour|St Clair, K. (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour.]] --- - **Keywords:** - [[Colour]] - [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] - [[Scheele’s Green]] - **Related:** - see [[Scheele’s Green was used to dye food]] because it was a popular colorant at the time - **Reference:** - [[Sawbones - Arsenic Wallpaper]] - [[stclair2016SecretLivesColour|St Clair, K. (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour.]] - [The Color That May Have Killed Napoleon: Scheele's Green | Open Culture](https://www.openculture.com/2021/02/discover-scheeles-green-the-arsenic-laden-color-that-may-have-contributed-to-napoleons-death.html) - [Was Napoleon Bonaparte Poisoned? | AMNH](https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/was-napoleon-poisoned)