Affiliation:
1. Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
2. Independent Scholar
Abstract
Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was one of the most impactful United States political figures of the early and mid-nineteenth century. He served in Congress and as the Secretary of State for three Presidents. He died in October of 1852 and his autopsy appeared in the medical literature. Historians have reported that his cause of death was either related to a traumatic head injury he sustained in May of 1852 or from complications of alcoholic cirrhosis. In this manuscript, we will review Webster's medical history and autopsy to determine his cause of death.
Reference47 articles.
1. Death of Daniel Webster: Sketch of his life and public career. New York Daily Times, 25 October 1852, p.1.
2. Denunciation of Daniel Webster. Liberator, 3 May 1850, p.1.
3. ART. VII.—An Account of the last Illness of the late Honourable Daniel Webster, Secretary of State