Napoleon died of what while in exile?

• A. Stomach cancer
• B. Heart attack
• C. Tuberculosis
• D. Old age

Answer: (A)

Understanding causes of death from history often rests on medical reports and how illness progressed. Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821 while in exile on Saint Helena, and the available medical accounts describe a stomach ailment that worsened over time. The physicians who performed the autopsy noted gastric lesions consistent with cancer, and Napoleon’s symptoms—abdominal pain, weight loss, and a gradual decline—fit a cancer diagnosis more than a sudden event.

There has been debate about arsenic exposure from relics like wallpaper, but that evidence isn’t conclusive and doesn’t override the medical findings at the time. A heart attack would usually present more abruptly; tuberculosis would show respiratory symptoms; and dying at 51 wouldn’t typically be labeled “old age” for historical analysis. So, the best-supported explanation is stomach cancer, given the medical observations and the illness trajectory documented during his exile.