Was Beethoven Black?

[TAGGIEIR]

Greetings. I recently heard that Beethoven was Black. And some of the problems in his life was
because he was Black.
Question: Was Beethoven Black?
And where can I look to cross reference
this information. Thanks!

[Gurn Blanston]

No, he was not "black" in the sense of "African" if that is what you mean. He did have what would be called a "swarthy" complexion, but this was by no means unusual, and was probably even shared by the majority of his countrymen. I have never heard of any ill befalling him because he had a swarthy complexion.


------------------
Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Peter]

No he was not black anymore than Nelson Mandela is white, what does it matter?

Check out the picture gallery on this site and judge for yourself!
www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/picturegallery.html

------------------
'Man know thyself'

[Pastorali]

We say here: "In the night, all cats are black." I guess, it was the same with Beethoven...

[v russo]

Originally posted by TAGGIEIR:
Greetings. I recently heard that Beethoven was Black. And some of the problems in his life was
because he was Black.
Question: Was Beethoven Black?
And where can I look to cross reference
this information. Thanks!

YES, HE WAS!!! SO WAS JESUS!!! AND MOHAMMAD!!! AND EVERY POPE!!!! AND ADAM AND EVE!!! AND JIMMY HOFFA!!!! AND VAN GOGH AND MOZART!!!! AND MY MOM!!!! AND EVERYONE!!!! .....EVERYONE I TELL YOU!!!!

He was a german white male. Complexion aside, this is what he was. Many a portrait and genetic history of the european German back up this reality.

Man, political correctness is out of hand, ...dont you think?



------------------
v russo

[Gurn Blanston]

v.
I've thought so ever since the first kiss of liberality drove me, a staunch conservative, into political bed with the religious fanatics. Politics do indeed make strange bedfellows! Somewhere there, I'm bloody sure I have insulted someone. I hope they can tough it out.


------------------
Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Amalie]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TAGGIEIR:
[B]Greetings. I recently heard that Beethoven was Black. And some of the problems in his life was
because he was Black.

*******

Sounds like a classic piece of misinformation!



------------------
~ Unsterbliche Geliebte ~

[Tony John Hearne]

Originally posted by Peter:
No he was not black anymore than Nelson Mandela is white, what does it matter?

Check out the picture gallery on this site and judge for yourself!
www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/picturegallery.html

Peter, as always thank you for an authorative post. Of course it doesn't matter but I have to conclude that if indeed the Maestro was Black his struggles in that particular society at that time would probably have only intensified

------------------
Love from London

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, he may have ended up as one of Mozart's famous contemporaries: stuffed and put on display in the museum. Madame Tussaud had nothing on the Viennese! BTW, that was in 1765 or so. And HE was also a revered and respected member of society.


------------------
Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Peter]

Originally posted by Tony John Hearne:
Peter, as always thank you for an authorative post. Of course it doesn't matter but I have to conclude that if indeed the Maestro was Black his struggles in that particular society at that time would probably have only intensified

Or possibly like Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-George. http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Page1.html

------------------
'Man know thyself'

[mrfixit]

A black person once told me Beethoven was one quarter black. Perhaps this is possible?

[Peter]

Originally posted by mrfixit:
A black person once told me Beethoven was one quarter black. Perhaps this is possible?

First off I'd like to know what evidence this person (who obviously has greater knowledge than all Beethoven scholars to date) has? and if he has access to a more detailed family tree than the one on this site, perhaps he'd like to share it. www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/familytree.html

This is such a difficult area to talk about in today's pc world without being accused of being racist! It just seems curious to me why this theory which apparently emerged in the US is in such circulation and why some black (and white) people are determined Beethoven was black, despite the facts!

There is no evidence to suggest he had any black ancestors, but if you go far back on one branch of his family tree of course it's possible, it's also possible you might find Indian, Chinese or even a Neanderthal!

------------------
'Man know thyself'

[King Stephen]

Originally posted by Peter:
First off I'd like to know what evidence this person (who obviously has greater knowledge than all Beethoven scholars to date) has? and if he has access to a more detailed family tree than the one on this site, perhaps he'd like to share it. www.kingsbarn.freeserve.co.uk/familytree.html

This is such a difficult area to talk about in today's pc world without being accused of being racist! It just seems curious to me why this theory which apparently emerged in the US is in such circulation and why some black (and white) people are determined Beethoven was black, despite the facts!

There is no evidence to suggest he had any black ancestors, but if you go far back on one branch of his family tree of course it's possible, it's also possible you might find Indian, Chinese or even a Neanderthal!

Gee! Peter, I never gave it a thought as to Beethovens color for I always thought he was an alien from the planet Beethovinia. Where else could music like Beethoven's come from.


[This message has been edited by King Stephen (edited 06-17-2004).]

[Gurn Blanston]

Originally posted by King Stephen:
Gee! Peter, I never gave it a thought as to Beethovens color for I always thought he was an alien from the planet Beethovinia. Where alse could music like Beethoven's come from.

I don't personally give a damn what he was, but this is the sort of thing that is ginned up for some political reason, and one can't allow that to happen as though he were a pawn in someone's big game. In any case, it is silly, if one wished to go back far enough, we are ALL Africans, and in fact most of us have trouble in our lives at some point, so if you put those things together, it can be fairly stated that being African and having trouble in life must be related! What a leap of logic!



------------------
Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[dbass]

Black Beethoven!? I remember first hearing this issue in the media (radio) while living in San Francisco in the mid 60s (1965-66), a time of great struggles; Civil Rights, Viet Nam and the
Hippie Flower Power thing. The issue/question
quickly died (for an obvious reason)and nothing further was heard about it untill now, here. How does one cross ref a lame rumor?

db