Twitter Reels At Revelation That Beethoven May Have Been Black

Twitter users were left reeling this morning at the revelation that classical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven may have been a black man.

The theory has been posited for decades, but is mostly based on speculation. The thinking is that Beethoven's mother was from Flanders, a Flemish region from Belgium which for some time was under Spanish rule. Spain had a relationship with North Africa at the time, and the idea is that perhaps Beethoven had blackness in his bloodline.

This morning, a piece from the defunct website The Concordian that claimed Beethoven was black resurfaced on Twitter. The piece uses some descriptions of Beethoven from friends and colleagues to back up their theory (though the author admits "I am no Beethoven expert"). Quotes from people describing Beethoven include: "Wide, thick-lipped mouth, short, thick nose, and proudly arched forehead." "Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose.” "His face reveals no trace of the German… He was so dark that people dubbed him ‘The Spagnol’ [dark-skinned]."

While the theory has been given little weight by historians, many on Twitter gleefully played with it, joking that it was no wonder his music was so good since he was black.

While most of the jokes were in good fun, some pointed to other black composers and performers from the time who garnered less historical acclaim than Beethoven.