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Death By LeachingBorn on January 22, 1788, George Gordon, Lord Byron, became one of our most celebrated poets in spite of, or perhaps because of, a troubled childhood: his father died when he was three, and his mother beat him badly. He grew up as capricious as his linguistic talent was sublime. He left Britain in 1816 amid rumors of an incestuous relationship with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh, and in 1823 he joined the Greek army to fight the Turks. In February 1824 he had an epileptic fit, and doctors prescribed leeching. For centuries this had been commonplace, the theory being the larvae would suck out "bad blood". But in Byron's case, the leeches ingested so much blood that when the poet caught a cold, his immune system was too weak to fight it, and he died on April 19. Nowadays, leeching is better understood, if less widespread, though it is sometimes used to prevent blood clots during cosmetic surgery.(informer@sunday-times.co.uk) --> return to menu / back ... (click) --> return to top of the page (click) |
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