A 57 Year Window Into Cause of Death

Eleanora Duse's Death Certificate


An odd little genealogical tidbit I found while yet again toiling on my family tree, Pennsylvania has available online death certificates for anyone who died in the state between 1906 and 1963.  Why they offer that 57 year window I have no clue.  You have to be a resident of PA to utilize this, but I think that if you simply type in a valid zip code in the prompt box (for instance, 15213, which is a Pittsburgh zip), you should be able to access the archives.
Here I've posted Eleanora Duse's death certificate, God bless her.  What a talent, and how tragic that she died in this then smoky city.  I've blogged about Duse before, which you can read here.

Eleanora Duse

           Eleanora Duse, 1875, age 17



It was on this date, April 21, 1924, that Eleanor Duse died of pneumonia in Pittsburgh at the age of 65.   It's difficult to gauge or process in this digital age of endless imagery just how much impact the intimacy and immediacy of the stage had on society.  I've read the reviews of Duse's performances, and they glow and rave, but it's still a challenge to contextualize without the visual.  Fortunately, some of her evocative powers come through in the photographs taken of her across her career.
An anecdotal account of Duse's last performance and final illness can be found here.