Employing modern day pathological and tumor-staging methods, University of Texas Southwestern researchers have concluded that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte died from advanced gastric cancer resulting from a chronic bacteria infection, H. pylori bacteria.

While Napoleon's personal physician Francesco Antommarchi stated at the time of Napoleon's death that the ruler of France had died from stomach cancer, an alternative and popular theory that has persisted down through the centuries after his death suggested Napoleon was killed by prolonged arsenic poisoning. Apparently, not so.

By studying historical accounts, the researchers determined that the advancement of gastric cancer was such that even modern day treatments would not have prolonged Napoleon's life. Professor of pathology and internal medicine Dr. Robert Genta stated, "Even if treated today, he'd have been dead within a year."

Napoleon's father died from stomach cancer, but the researchers dismiss that heredity played a role in the development of Napoleon's gastric cancer. Dr. Genta explains, "The ulcerated lesion on the emperor's stomach suggests a history of chronic H. pylori gastritis, which might have increased his risk of gastric cancer. The risk might have been further increased by his diet full of salt-preserved foods but sparse in fruits and vegetables – common fare for long military campaigns."

To learn details of the study into Napoleon's death from gastric cancer, and the methods used by the researchers, read University of Texas Southwestern's Napoleon's mysterious death unmasked.