Ludwig van Beethoven

17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven,composer,had bipolar disorder which some have said gave him such creative power that his compositions broke the mold for classical music forever. He was a child prodigy which his father tried to exploit. His “manic” episodes seemed to fuel his creativity. He wrote his most famous works during times of torment,loneliness,and suffering psychotic delusions. It took him 12 years to finish his last and 8^th Symphony in total deafness. He then medicated  himself with the only drugs available in that day to bring some relief –opium and alcohol- and died  several years later of liver disease.