DNA Haplotypes (DNA signatures) for famous,
or infamous, homo sapiens*

Mitochondrial DNA - mtDNA

The Romanovs - The Last Russian Royal Family

In July 1991, nine bodies were exhumed from a shallow grave just outside Ekaterinburg, Russia.  Circumstantial evidence, along with mitochondrial DNA sequencing and matches, gave strong evidence to the remains being those of the Romanovs, the last Russian Royals who were executed on July 18, 1918.  The following sequences for Tsar Nicholas II,  his cousin, Count Nicholai Trubetskoy, Tsarina Alexandra, and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, are taken from Bryan Sykes book, "The Seven Daughters of Eve."

*The Tsar's sequence contains a new mutation at position 169, a state referred to as heteroplasmy - the existence of more than one mitochondrial type in the cells of an individual, i.e., the presence of both normal and mutant mtDNA in a single individual.  The remains of his brother, Grand Duke of Russia, Georgij Romanov were exhumed, and the results were identical to the Tsar's, including the heteroplasmy at 16169Y.  Mitosearch: DQR2R

Tsarina Alexandra, the three children buried with her, and Prince Philip's mitochondrial DNA were an exact match on 740 tested nucleotides.  Mitosearch: 2ZACX

Stanford University's, Alec Knight's 2003 paper, "Molecular, forensic and haplotypic inconsistencies regarding the identity of the Ekaterinburg remains"   presents a conclusion that the identity of the Ekaterinburg remains has not been established.

Marie Antoinette

DNA was extracted from a lock of Marie Antoinette's hair that was snipped from her head as a child.  Her DNA matched a sample taken from a heart believed to be from her son, King Louis XVII. (Source article)   Marie Antoinette's farthest known maternal line ancestor: Bertha von Putelendorf, d 1190. Mitosearch: RZBYG

Jesse James

In 1995, the infamous outlaw, Jesse James' body was exhumed for DNA testing.  Samples of hair and other fragments from his first burial site at his home were also recovered and sampled, along with mtDNA samples extracted from two living James' relatives.  All samples resulted in a perfect match, thus concluding that the body in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, is indeed that of Jesse James. Mitosearch: EEYCU (Source article)

Ancient DNA Haplotypes

Cheddar Man

In 1903, skeletal remains were found in a cave in Cheddar, England. The remains of a 23 year-old man, who was killed by a blow to the face, were discovered to be at least 9,000 years old. Ninety-four years after the discovery of "Cheddar Man", scientists were able to extract mitochondrial DNA from his tooth cavity. Mitosearch: 7MRU2

Bryan Sykes, and his team at Oxford University distributed DNA test kits to local Cheddar schools, and a match was found to a local schoolteacher, Adrian Targett. Read more on Cheddar Man.

Ice Man - Otzi of Italy

Widely known as "Otzi (Oetzi)" the Iceman found in 1991 in the Italian Alps, is also known as "Similaun Man".  Of the Neolithic era, Otzi lived between 3350-3300 B.C. in the "Copper Age". He was believed to be 46-years old when he died at the top of a mountain pass from wounds received. Mitosearch: 93GK5 Read more on Otzi.

Ice Maiden - "Juanita" of Peru

Also known as "Juanita", the Inca Ice Maiden was discovered on Mount Ampato, near Arequipa, Peru by Johann Reinhard in 1995.  She was sacrificed sometime around the ages of 12-14 and lived about 500 years ago.  Her body lay frozen at the mountaintop until a nearby volcanic eruption melted Mount Ampato's ice cap.  Mitosearch: H35HN

Luke the Evangelist - aka St. Luke

A doctor, but better known as the biblical author of the "Gospel According to Luke", Luke the Evangelist was believed to have been born in Antioch, in the Roman province of Syria.  Historical sources cite that he died at the age of 84 in Thebes (Greece) around the year 150 A.D.  His body was interred first in Constantinople, and then later transferred to Padua, Italy.  Geneticists have tested the remains believed to be those of Luke, and sampled Syrian and Greek populations for comparison.   They've determined that the body attributed as Luke's, is likely of Syrian origin.
(Source article)

Petrarch - The Italian Poet

In 2003, the remains of the 14th century Italian scholar, poet, and humanist, Francesco Petrarca were exhumed and DNA was extracted from a tooth and a rib.  Gender testing revealed that the tooth was from a female and the rib was from a male.  Petrach's grave had been violated by thieves in 1630, but the rib that was analyzed is believed to be his as skeletal injuries are consistent with those he received from a kick by a donkey. (Source)  Read more 

James "Earthquake McGoon" McGovern

The first American combat fatality (along with his co-pilot) in Vietnam, James "Earthquake McGoon" McGovern was a WWII fighter ace.  On May 6, 1954, his plane was shot down over Laos.  The remains were discovered in 2002 and DNA testing was conducted in 2006. (Source)  Read more 

Y-Chromosome DNA
NOTE: The following haplotypes are extracted from living descendants.   In the instance of ancient haplotypes, those haplotypes have been hypothesized based on a "founder's theory".

Thomas Jefferson - Sally Hemmings

In 1998, the most famous Y-chromosome DNA testing case ever to debut, asked "Did Thomas Jefferson father children by his slave, Sally Hemmings?"

Five descendants of Thomas Jefferson's paternal uncle, Field Jefferson, were tested.   John Weeks Jefferson, the only living male descended from Eston Hemmings in a direct Y-chromosome line of descent, confirmed that they share a common Jefferson ancestor.  Whether that ancestor was Thomas Jefferson has been a subject of controversy among the descendants.  Y-Search: Q8UXG

Genghis Khan - An Asian Alpha Male

As eight percent of twenty-one hundred Central Asian males tested had a "unique Y-chromosome lineage", it has been deduced that this may be the "founder" lineage of Genghis Khan. 
Y-Search: PVU76  (Source)

[Ancient DNA]     [Famous Haplogroups]  [Founding Father DNA]   [Neanderthal DNA]
[Presidential DNA]

Photo in header: The Romanovs
Source text for Romanovs'
Jefferson, and Khan DNA:
Forensic DNA Typing by John Butler
Source text for Marie Antoinette's
DNA: European Journal of Human
Genetics, vol6 pp383-395 (1998)
and vol 9, pp185-190, (2001) 
Compiled by K. Borges with 
thanks to D. Reynolds, W. Hurst,
S. Perkins, C. Kerchner, U. Perego
D. Devine and R. Canada
for their assistance with this page!
Copyright © 2005-2008
The International Society of Genetic Genealogy
www.isogg.org
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Page last updated: 08/06/2008
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