CNN —Fragments of a skull believed to have been that of composer Ludwig van Beethoven have been donated to a university in Austria after spending decades in the United States. Seligmann, who died in 1892, had been a physician, medical historian and anthropologist in Vienna. The skull pieces, now referred to as the Seligmann fragments, came into his possession in 1863 during a reburial of Beethoven’s bones for study purposes. Rischgitz/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesIn 1802, 25 years before his death, Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers, asking that his doctor, Johann Adam Schmidt, determine and share the nature of his “illness” after his death. Christian Reiter, a Vienna-based forensic pathologist, has previously examined the skull fragments and deemed them to be credible.

---

Persons: Ludwig van Beethoven, Paul Kaufmann, ”, Franz Romeo Seligmann, Seligmann, Beethoven, Johann Adam Schmidt, Kaufmann, “, ’, Max Planck, Markus Müller, Christian Reiter, piecing Organizations: CNN, Medical University of Vienna, Seligmann, Max, Max Planck Institute, Beethoven Locations: Austria, United States, American, Vienna, Carmichael , California, France, Vienna’s, Germany, Leipzig