Date of Event is Unknown or Unsure
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The Legend
According to the physician Thomas Bartholin [1616-1680] in his work Acta Medica et Philosophica Hafniensia (published in 1672), a poor woman living in Paris, France, who had been a heavy drinker of spirits and wine to the point of taking little else as nourishment for three years, laid down upon a straw couch to sleep one night and was found completely incinerated in the morning, reduced to mere ashes, some digits (either toes or fingers), and a piece of the top of her skull.
Plenty of Sources, But...
This particular event was often reported in the spontaneous combustion literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, because of the believed connection between alcoholism and spontaneous combustion that was going around at the time. Unfortunately, at this late point in time and without an exact date for the event or actual name for the victim, it is likely impossible to know if this case is scientifically explainable or supernatural, much less real. It is this very lack of important information that renders ancient cases such as this useless as scientific evidence; but they remain entertaining stories that add a sense of historic depth -- and implied authenticity -- to believer’s theories of spontaneous combustion.
Sources:
- Now available on Request.
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