On April 13, 2009, I wrote about a proposal to have a pillowcase at a Philadelphia museum tested for Abraham Lincoln's DNA. It is the pillowcase he was lying on when he died and it contains dried drops of his blood. John Sotos, cardiologist and consultant for the television series House, asked to test the artifact to prove Lincoln had a rare genetic cancer syndrome called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B). You can read my earlier story and the many readers' comments at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/04/lincolns-dna.html.
Last night, the members of the board of the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in Philadelphia's Frankford section decided to not allow testing of the artifact.
The museum board turned down Sotos' request while leaving open the possibility of future testing that may be overseen by the National Museum of Health and Medicine, part of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington.
You can read more in the Philadelphia Inquirer at: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20090505_Museum_puts_off_DNA_testing_of_Lincoln_artifact_for_now.html.
