History’s Medical Mysteries


Dead Men Talking
Did Julius Caesar stage his own death? Was King Tut murdered? And what killed Alexander the Great? A forensic psychiatrist joins hot debates over cold cases.
by Harold J. Bursztajn

View Masters
The remarkable triumphs of masters in the artist’s studio—and even one in the batter’s box—have realigned perceptions of vision.
by Margaret Livingstone and Bevil Conway

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
Harvard physicians delve into the past to diagnose a range of mysterious maladies, from the Salem Witch Trials, to the neurology of Vincent Van Gogh’s color choices, to Eugene O’Neill’s debilitating neurological disorder.
by Beverly Ballaro, Paula Byron, and Janice O’Leary

The Curious Case of the Incurable Epicure
The sudden, baffling death of the grand admiral of the Dutch fleet handed a premier physician a mystery—and medical immortality.
by Anthony S. Patton

Mystery Theater
For more than a century, Harvard physicians have stepped into the clinical sleuthing arena to test their wits against some of medicine’s most perplexing cases.
by Beverly Ballaro

Murder Most Harvard
A brutal slaying at Harvard Medical School led to one of the
world’s first applications of forensic evidence in court.
by Anthony S. Patton