The mystery surrounding the death of President Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States, has long intrigued historians and conspiracy theorists alike. Known greater for his army prowess than his quick presidency, Taylor’s sudden demise in 1850 sparked theories of foul play, mainly arsenic poisoning. However, current forensic investigations have put these speculations to rest.
On July four, 1850, Taylor attended a celebration in Washington, D.C., where he reportedly ate up a large quantity of raw cherries and iced milk. Shortly thereafter, he fell unwell with severe belly cramps and died five days later. The authentic purpose of demise became listed as “acute gastroenteritis,” a diagnosis that did little to quell rumors of assassination.
In the 1970s and ’80s, theories of Taylor being poisoned received traction, in large part because of the efforts of Clara Rising, a humanities professor at the University of Florida. Rising posited that Taylor’s sudden contamination and next dying might have been the end result of arsenic poisoning, in all likelihood orchestrated through political adversaries angered by his stance in opposition to the westward growth of slavery. She mentioned that Taylor’s signs and symptoms were constant with arsenic poisoning and argued that effective figures, which include Vice President Millard Fillmore, had reasons to get rid of him.
Rising’s patience led to the exhumation of Taylor’s body on June 17, 1991. The Kentucky medical examiner, Dr. George Nichols, oversaw the process, which involved taking hair, fingernail, and bone samples for arsenic trying out. These samples have been analyzed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory using advanced nuclear generation able to detecting microscopic quantities of arsenic.
The outcomes, introduced weeks later, revealed trace quantities of arsenic in Taylor’s remains. However, these stages had been a long way too low to have induced his dying. Nichols concluded that Taylor in all likelihood died from certainly one of many herbal sicknesses normal within the unsanitary conditions of nineteenth-century Washington, D.C. “It is my opinion that Zachary Taylor died of one of a myriad of herbal diseases that may have produced the symptoms of gastroenteritis,” Nichols said.
The exhumation and next assessments debunked the principle of arsenic poisoning, attributing Taylor’s loss of life to natural causes exacerbated via the primitive clinical practices of the time. His medical doctors administered remedies together with opium, ipecac, and bleeding, which probable worsened his condition. Modern medical experts now agree with that Taylor would possibly have survived had he been left to recover naturally.
The exhumation of President Zachary Taylor serves as a fascinating case observe in historic forensics, illustrating how modern technology can make clear the mysteries of the beyond. While Taylor’s death become not the result of a nefarious plot, it underscores the harsh realities of 19th-century scientific and sanitary situations, providing precious insights into the demanding situations faced with the aid of army and political leaders of that generation.