What killed Mozart?
Mozart died in Vienna in December 1791 at 35, after a short illness that his doctors recorded only as a fever with a rash. No autopsy was done, and more than two centuries of rumour and retrospective diagnosis followed.
6 established, 4 disputed, 2 debunked, 2 unresolved. We do not pick an answer; the evidence places each claim. How we decide
40 citations from 15 independent sources - 25 echo the same voices and count once. Graded A1-D1.
Added 29 Sept 2026
What the four states mean
- Establishedsupported, uncontested
- Disputedcredible sources disagree
- Debunkedrefuted by the evidence
- Unresolvedno settled answer
Established 6supported, uncontested
Mozart is reported to have said, in his last months, that he believed he had been poisoned.▰▰▰▱▱ likelysummary-sourced3 points
Supports- Mozart began to speak of death, and declared that he was writing the Requiem for himself. Tears came to the eyes of the sensitive man: "I feel definitely", he continued, "that I will not last much longer; I am sure I have been poisoned. I cannot rid myself of this idea."Wikipedia, 'Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' summary
- Mozart himself was said to have suspected poisoning, then changed his mind in his final months.Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times News Service, 'After Mozart's death, an endless coda', The Bulletin, 29 August 2010 summary
- But in his final weeks Mozart is reported to have believed he had been poisoned, and had gone so far as to blame hostile Italian factions at the Viennese court.Erica Jeal, 'The feud that never was', The Guardian, 19 December 2003 summary
The recorded diagnosis, "hitziges Frieselfieber" or severe miliary fever, describes a fever with a rash and cannot be translated into a modern disease.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- After his death, his doctor, Franz Closset, made the diagnosis of "hitziges Frieselfieber" (acute or severe miliary fever) which was a common diagnosis made on patients with fever and skin rash at that time.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
- Their diagnosis was heated miliary fever, which simply means a fever with a rash.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- The official diagnosis 'hitziges Frieselfieber' (severe military fever) cannot be decoded or translated into modern medical terms.Bauer, 'Possibilities and limits of retrospective diagnoses: pathobiographical notes on Mozart's diseases', Wurzburger medizinhistorische Mitteilungen 25, 2006 (PubMed abstract) analysis
According to eyewitness accounts, severe swelling (edema) was the hallmark of Mozart's final illness.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- According to eyewitness accounts, the hallmark of Mozart's final disease was severe edema.Zegers, Weigl and Steptoe, 'The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: an epidemiologic perspective', Annals of Internal Medicine 151(4), 2009 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
- His terminal illness was characterised by edema of hands and feet, without any associated dyspnoea being described.Zegers, 'Health and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 146(51), 2002 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Guldener von Lobes, a physician who had consulted with Mozart's doctor Closset, described an epidemic in Vienna in late autumn 1791 that attacked a great many inhabitants and, for not a few, had the same symptoms and fatal outcome as Mozart's illness.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- This receives confirmation from the testimony of the well-respected Dr Edward Guldener von Lobes, medical superintendent of Lower Austria, who had been in consultation with Dr Closset over the case. He refers to an epidemic which raged in Vienna in the late autumn of 1791 and saidJenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- This malady attacked at this time a great many of the inhabitants of Vienna, and for not a few of them it had the same fatal conclusion and the same symptoms as in the case of Mozart.Wikipedia, 'Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' summary
Researchers have proposed well over a hundred different causes of Mozart's death.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- Yet according to a recent article in an academic journal, researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times News Service, 'After Mozart's death, an endless coda', The Bulletin, 29 August 2010 summary
- Mozart's 140 causes of death and 27 mental disorders.Karhausen, 'Mozart's 140 causes of death and 27 mental disorders', BMJ 341:c6789, 2010 (PubMed record) analysis
Vienna's official register of deaths shows deaths from edema markedly increased among younger men in the weeks around Mozart's death, compared with the previous and following years.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- The official daily register of deaths in Mozart's Vienna was evaluated to provide an epidemiologic framework into which the observations of contemporary witnesses of his death can be integrated.Zegers, Weigl and Steptoe, 'The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: an epidemiologic perspective', Annals of Internal Medicine 151(4), 2009 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
- Deaths from edema were markedly increased among younger men in the weeks surrounding Mozart's death compared with the previous and following years.Zegers, Weigl and Steptoe, 'The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: an epidemiologic perspective', Annals of Internal Medicine 151(4), 2009 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
Disputed 4credible sources disagree
A skull said to be Mozart's shows a left temporal fracture, which has been taken to raise the question of a chronic subdural hematoma contributing to his death.▰▰▰▱▱ likely1 against3 points
Supports- A left temporal fracture and concomitant erosions raise the question of chronic subdural hematoma, which would be consistent with several falls in 1789 and 1790 and could have caused the weakness, headaches, and fainting he experienced in 1790 and 1791. Aggressive bloodletting to treat suspected rheumatic fever could have decompensated such a lesion to produce his death on December 5, 1791.Drake, 'Mozart's chronic subdural hematoma', Neurology 43(11), 1993 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
- W. A. Mozart died due to the consequences of chronic epidural hematoma after sustaining a dull injury to his head, probably at an early age.Vlcek et al., 'The skull of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart predicates of his death', Acta Chirurgiae Plasticae 48(4), 2006 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
Against- The skull that was later ascribed to him was not his own, as no element of the denture fits with the tooth abscess he was known to have experienced.Zegers, 'Health and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 146(51), 2002 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Mozart's last illness was a streptococcal infection leading to poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.▰▰▰▱▱ unlikely2 against3 points
Supports- 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.Zegers, Weigl and Steptoe, 'The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: an epidemiologic perspective', Annals of Internal Medicine 151(4), 2009 (PubMed abstract) authoritative
Against- His last illness can be explained by infectious endocarditis and heart failure.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
- the medical and history records about Mozart's health status indicate that he probably had suffered from an infective illness, followed most likely by the reactivation of rheumatic feverIvkic and Erdeljic, 'Could a neurological disease be a part of Mozart's pathography?', Collegium Antropologicum 35 Suppl 1, 2011 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Mozart died of chronic kidney disease and, ultimately, uraemia.▰▰▰▱▱ unlikely2 against3 points
Supports- Mozart however died of chronic kidney disease and ultimately of uraemia.Hatzinger et al., 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: the death of a genius', Acta Medico-Historica Adriatica 11(1), 2013 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Against- Enormous mental energy, an undiminished appetite, normal sleep, and unimpaired fertility (his wife had given birth to their second surviving son on 26 July) are clinical signs of good health and not terminal renal failure or any other serious chronic disease.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- it does not explain the high fever associated with rash and there was no indication that Mozart was suffering from chronic kidney disease.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
Trichinosis, possibly from pork, has been proposed as the cause of Mozart's death.▰▰▰▱▱ unlikely2 against3 points
Supports- Trichinosis is a recent hypothesis which fits the terminal symptoms and the fact that Mozart was fond of pork.Zegers, 'Health and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 146(51), 2002 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Against- Trichinosis was a relatively common disease in middle Europe at the time but it was seldom fatal, and his last illness cannot be explained by this diagnosis.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
- Trichinellosis is unlikely to be responsible for Mozart's death.Dupouy-Camet, 'Trichinellosis is unlikely to be responsible for Mozart's death', Archives of Internal Medicine 162(8), 2002 (PubMed record) analysis
Debunked 2refuted by the evidence
Soon after Mozart's death a rumour held that he had been poisoned, with Salieri among the alleged culprits.Refuted by
However, if one gathers all known facts, there is no evidence that Mozart was murdered, and the exact cause of his death remains unclear.
refuted3 against5 pointsThe claim rested on- The rumour that Mozart was poisoned followed shortly after his death on 5 December 1791, at the age of 35, and has survived to this day. The alleged culprits were his physician van Swieten, Mozart's freemasons lodge, and the Imperial Chapel Master Salieri.Hatzinger et al., 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: the death of a genius', Acta Medico-Historica Adriatica 11(1), 2013 (PubMed abstract) analysis
- Soon after his death stories began to circulate that he had succumbed to poison administered by his rival Salieri or, according to some, the Freemasons.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
Refuted by- However, if one gathers all known facts, there is no evidence that Mozart was murdered, and the exact cause of his death remains unclear.Franzen, 'Illness and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)', Medizinische Klinik 101(9), 2006 (PubMed abstract) analysis
- The poisoning tales have now been laid to restJenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- And Salieri the poisoner? Sadly for those who like a good conspiracy theory, there's no evidence that he was any such thing.Erica Jeal, 'The feud that never was', The Guardian, 19 December 2003 summary
One account has Mozart dying from mercury used to treat syphilis.Refuted by
However, when Mozart's entries in his own catalogue of compositions is examined, his handwriting of only 2 weeks before his fatal illness is shown to be as firm and steady as ever. Therefore, mercury poisoning can be eliminated.
refuted2 against3 pointsThe claim rested on- The treatment of syphilis at this time was by the use of mercury and, among many other causes, it has been blamed for the composer's death.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
Refuted by- However, when Mozart's entries in his own catalogue of compositions is examined, his handwriting of only 2 weeks before his fatal illness is shown to be as firm and steady as ever. Therefore, mercury poisoning can be eliminated.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- An overdose of mercury during the treatment of syphilis seems to be unlikelyZegers, 'Health and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 146(51), 2002 (PubMed abstract) analysis
Unresolved 2no settled answer
Repeated bloodletting by his physicians may have contributed to Mozart's death.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- During his last hours, he was given phlebotomy, possibly for the third time in two weeks, and soon after he became unconscious and died. As such, phlebotomy performed on a man dehydrated by high fever and vomiting may have caused systemic shock.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
- the standard treatment for fevers was venesection, emetics and purgatives all of which would have contributed to a fatal outcome.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- Bloodletting as a treatment may also have hastened Mozart’s death.Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times News Service, 'After Mozart's death, an endless coda', The Bulletin, 29 August 2010 summary
The exact cause of Mozart's death remains uncertain.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- The exact cause of death remains speculative.Franzen, 'Illness and death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)', Medizinische Klinik 101(9), 2006 (PubMed abstract) analysis
- In spite of a very large literature devoted to Mozart's death most of it is purely speculative and the cause remains uncertain.Jenkins, 'Mozart, portrait and myth', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99(6), 2006 analysis
- Thirty-five year-old Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna after an acute illness that lasted only 15 days but no consensus has been reached on the cause of his death.Lee, 'Infective Endocarditis and Phlebotomies May Have Killed Mozart', Korean Circulation Journal 40(12), 2010 analysis
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