Science & Technology
Louis XVI relic tested for DNA
By
T.K. RandallOctober 15, 2010 ·
3 comments
Image Credit: A.F Callet
A decorative gunpowder gourd is thought to contain the dried blood of French King Louis XVI.
Scientists conducted DNA tests on the blood and found that it belonged to a blue-eyed male from the time of Louis XVI's death by guillotine.
Sick of taxes, a lack of rights and living in poverty, French revolutionists condemned Louis XVI to the guillotine on the morning of January 21, 1793. After a short but defiant speech and a menacing drum roll, one of the last kings of France lost his head as a crowd rushed the scaffold to dip handkerchiefs into his blood as mementos.
Source:
Wired |
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