Hemingway's Death and Hemochromatosis Awareness
Ernest Hemingway, one of America's greatest writers, died from hereditary hemochromatosis on July 2, 1961. He was one of a number of Hemingways who succumbed to America's most prevalent genetic killer, a condition that is remarkably cheap and easy to treat, and may do very little damage if detected early enough. If you're like me, you were taught in school that Hemingway died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, it is clear to many that the underlying cause of his death was iron overload due to hereditary hemochromatosis or HHC, also known as bronze diabetes and Celtic Curse. Why? Hemingway suffered from classic iron overload issues, like liver problems, heart disease, diabetes. Depression and suicide are both associated with hemochromatosis (numerous people on his family tree committed suicide). [The first version of this article was written by Stephen Cobb in 2011. It was revised in 2016 and refreshed more recently to mark World Haemochromatosis Week 2020 , J