Jane Austen poisoned with arsenic? Not so fast, experts say

Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Jane Austen, author "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice," was born in 1775 and died in 1817. Sandra Tuppen, lead curator of Modern Archives & Manuscripts 1601-1850 at the British Library, suggested in a blog post that Austen was poisoned with arsenic. Other experts said it's an unlikely theory. Past explanations for her early death include "cancer, tuberculosis and Addison's disease."
Hide Caption
1 of 8

Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-82), wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was forcibly committed to an asylum, but a contemporary doctor and scholar now believes she wasn't mentally ill at all. Instead, he believes, she had a condition called pernicious anemia.
Hide Caption
2 of 8

Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
Looking at the historic record, contemporary doctor and scholar John Sotos believes President Lincoln (1809-65), suffered from a rare genetic disease, MEN2B, in which nerve cells and long bones grow excessively.
Hide Caption
3 of 8

Photos: Historic medical diagnoses
President Ronald Reagan's (1911-2004) son wrote that he believed his father showed early signs of Alzheimer's while still serving as president.
Hide Caption
4 of 8
