Cancer theory on Shakespeare's death 'nonsense'

CLAIMS that William Shakespeare may have died from cancer have been rubbished by the chairman of Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust.

A German literary expert has argued the Bard suffered from a tumour over his left eye in the years leading to his death in April 1616.
Professor Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel, from the University of Mainz, made the claim in a book after noticing four images of the Stratford-born writer showing a growth which increases in size in later pictures.

She asked forensic scientists from Germany's Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation to look at works of art depicting Shakespeare.

But Stanley Wells, chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford, hit out at the scientist's claims. [MORE]