List of haplogroups of historic people

mtDNA

MtDNA results come from historical persons whose mitochondrial DNA has been tested; it identifies direct maternal ancestry, which is just one line out of many.

Ancient samples

These are results from 'ancient' samples, those collected from the remains or reputed remains of the person. Because mtDNA breaks down more slowly than nuclear DNA, it is often possible to obtain mtDNA results where other testing fails.

Cheddar Man

The skeleton excavated from the Cheddar Gorge is in haplogroup U5a. The Cheddar Man is the nickname for the ancient human remains found in Cheddar Gorge; his approximate date of death was 7150 BCE.

mitosearch member code: 7MRU2

Kennewick man

Analysis of the 8500-year-old skeleton of the Kennewick Man, found in Washington State, United States, showed that his y haplogroup is Q-M3 and his mtDNA haplogroup is X2a. This indicates that he was closely related to modern Native Americans.

"Markina Gora skeleton"

Analysis of mtDNA from the "Markina Gora" skeleton, a male early modern human who was interred approximately 30,000 years ago, at Markina Gora (also known as "Kostenki 14"), near Kostyonki, Voronezh Oblast on the River Don in Russia, has shown that it belongs to the U2 subclade.

Mary Magdalene

A lock of hair kept at a reliquary at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte Baume basilica, France, which local tradition holds belonged to the biblical figure Marie-Madeleine, was assigned to haplogroup K. Ancient DNA sequencing of a capillary bulb bore the K1a1b1a subclade, indicating that she was likely of Pharisian maternal origin.

Mummy Juanita

The mummy "Juanita" of Peru, also called the "Ice Maiden", has been shown to belong to mitochondrial haplogroup A.

Oseberg ship remains

The remains of the younger of the two women buried with the Oseberg Ship was tested and discovered to have mtDNA of U7.

Ötzi the Iceman

Analysis of the mtDNA of Ötzi, the frozen mummy from 3300 BCE found on the border of Austria and Italy, has shown that he belongs to the K1 subclade. His mtDNA cannot be categorized into any of the three modern branches of that subclade (K1a, K1b or K1c). The new subclade has preliminarily been named K1ö for Ötzi.

Young Man of Byrsa

In 2016, an ancient Carthaginian individual, who was excavated from a Punic tomb in Byrsa, Tunisia, was found to belong to the rare U5b2c1 maternal haplogroup. The Young Man of Byrsa specimen dates from the late sixth century BCE, and his lineage is believed to represent early gene flow from the Iberian Peninsula to the Maghreb.

Nicholas II of Russia and family

The last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II of Russia, was assigned to mtDNA haplogroup T, based on the following mutations: 16126C, 16169Y, 16294T, 16296T, 73G, 263G, 315.1C. His results matched those of a cousin, Count Nikolai Trubetskoy, but showed a heteroplasmy - a mix of two different sequences, indicating a recent mutation. To further confirm the identity, the tsar's brother, Grand Duke George, was exhumed and found to have the same mitochondrial heteroplasmy.

Empress Alexandra of Russia and her children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei were identified as belonging to mtDNA Haplogroup H (16111T, 16357C, 263G, 315.1C). This identity was confirmed by match to that of her grand-nephew, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

As part of the same analysis mitochondrial types were determined for four further individuals, thought to have been the Royal Physician and servants.

Petrarch

The supposed remains of Francesco Petrarca were tested for DNA in 2003.

Richard III of England

Richard III's mitochondrial haplotype was inferred from living descendants and then the identity of his remains confirmed through a multidisciplinary process including genetic analysis of both his mitochondrial and Y-DNA. In 2004 British historian John Ashdown-Hill traced a British-born woman living in Canada, Joy Ibsen (née Brown), who is a direct maternal line descendant of Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, a sister of Richard III of England. Joy Ibsen's mtDNA was tested and belongs to mtDNA Haplogroup J. Joy Ibsen died in 2008. On 4 February 2013, University of Leicester researchers announced that there was an mtDNA match between that of a skeleton exhumed in Leicester suspected of belonging to Richard III and that of Joy Ibsen's son, Michael Ibsen, and a second unnamed direct maternal line descendant. They share mtDNA haplogroup J1c2c.

Richard III, last king of the House of York and last of the House of Plantagenet, was YDNA G-P287, in contrast to the Y haplotypes of the putative modern relatives.

Sweyn II of Denmark

In order to verify whether the body of a woman entombed near Sweyn II of Denmark in Roskilde Cathedral is that of his mother Estrid, mtDNA from pulp of teeth from each of the two bodies was extracted and analysed. The king was assigned to mtDNA haplogroup H and the woman was assigned to mtDNA haplogroup H5a. Based on the observation of two HVR1 sequence differences, it was concluded that it is highly unlikely that the woman was the king's mother.

Deduction by descendant testing

Because mtDNA is carried through the direct female line, some researchers have identified the haplotype of historic persons by testing descendants in their direct female line. In the case of males, their mother's direct female lineage descendants are tested.

Benjamin Franklin

Doras Folger, one of Benjamin Franklin's mother's six sisters, passed on her mtDNA to her 9th-great-granddaughter, Charlene Chambers King, therefore showing Franklin to belong to haplogroup V.

Queen Victoria

mtDNA Haplogroup H (16111T, 16357C, 263G, 315.1C): Empress Alexandra of Russia's identity was confirmed by matching her mtDNA with that of her grand-nephew, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Their common maternal ancestor, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and her mother, Queen Victoria, must therefore have shared this haplotype. Genealogies show that Charles II of England had the same matrilineal ancestress as Queen Victoria, namely Anne of Bohemia and Hungary.

Edward IV of England

Edward IV of England and his brother Richard III of England, both sons of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, would have shared the same mtDNA haplogroup J1c2c.

Katie Couric

During an interview with Dr. Spencer Wells of the National Geographic Genographic Project, the American television personality Katie Couric was revealed to belong to haplogroup K.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert was told by Dr Spencer Wells that he is a member of haplogroup K.

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu, South African activist and Christian cleric, according to a study on Southern African genetics belongs to mtDNA haplogroup L0d, a subgroup of Haplogroup L0 (mtDNA).

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, belonged to mtDNA haplogroup L0d (previously known as L1d), a subgroup of Haplogroup L0 (mtDNA).

Prince Philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was tested to confirm the identity of the skeleton thought to be his great-aunt, Empress Alexandra of Russia, and was identified as belonging to mtDNA Haplogroup H (16111T, 16357C, 263G, 315.1C).

Bono

Bono, the vocalist for the Irish rock band U2, belongs to mtDNA haplogroup V.

Y-DNA

The results for Y-DNA genealogical DNA tests are either from the men themselves, or from men who have inferred paternal descent from historical figures. Scientists make the inference as a hypothesis which could be disproved or improved by future research.

Tutankhamun

An academic study which included DNA profiling of some of the related male mummies of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2010. Tutankhamun's Y-DNA haplogroup was not published in the academic paper, however iGENEA, a Swiss personal genomics company, claimed to have reconstructed King Tut's Y-DNA profile based on screencaps from a Discovery Channel documentary about the study. iGENEA without producing any proof, proposed that King Tut belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup R1b1a2,

Members of the research team that conducted the academic study published in 2010 stated they had not been consulted by iGENEA before they published the haplogroup information and described iGENEA's claims as "unscientific." After pressure to publish Tutankhamun's full DNA report to confirm his Y-DNA results, the researchers refused to respond.

Ramesses III

In December 2012, a genetic study conducted by the same researchers who decoded King Tutankhamun's DNA found that Ramesses III, second pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt and considered to be the last great New Kingdom regent to wield any substantial authority over Egypt, belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup E-V38, alternatively known as haplogroup E1b1a.

Richard III of England

Richard III of England was confirmed to be haplogroup G2a.

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II of Russia has been predicted as having an R1b haplotype.

Pengbo（倗伯）

In the Western Zhou-era Peng cemetery (Jiang County, Shanxi 2800-3000 BP), nine haplogroup Q-M120, two O-M95, one N-M231, four O-P201, two O-M122, and four O-M175 individuals were found. In another paper, the social status of those human remains of ancient Peng kingdom are analyzed:

1. Aristocrats: three Q-M120 (prostrate 2, supine 1), 2 O-M121 (supine 2), one N-M231 (prostrate)
2. Commoners: eight Q-M120 (prostrate 4, supine 4), three O-M121 (prostrate 1, supine 2), three O-M122 (supine 3)
3. Slaves: three O-M121, two O-M95, one O-M122.

The tomb of the Duke of Peng and his wife (presumed to be a Zhou royal house member) was excavated and the Duke of Peng is reportedly haplogroup Q-M120.

Gaodang-king Korguz (高唐王=趙王 阔里吉思)

Noble burials of Mongols in the Yuan dynasty in Shuzhuanglou Site (northernmost Hebei, China, 700YBP) were excavated. All three men excavated belong to Y haplogroup Q, with subclade not analysed.

The most principal occupant, Gaodang King Korguz, had mtDNA of haplogroup D4m2; two others' mtDNA is A

Korguz (Chinese: 高唐王阔里吉思) was the son of a princess of Kublai Khan and he was the king of the Ongud and a descendant of Gok-Truk. The Ongud claimed descent from the Shatuo. a branch of the Göktürks prominent in the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. His two wives were all princesses of Yuan Dynasty. It was very important for the Yuan dynasty to maintain marriage-alliance with the Onguds, which had been very important assistant since Genghis Khan. About 16 princesses of Yuan dynasty were married to khans of the Ongud.

Ötzi

Ötzi has been found to be Y-DNA haplogroup G-M201. The actual term used was G2a4, but the presumed L91 mutation has since been given a new category, G-M201.

Birger Magnusson

Birger Jarl, the founder of Stockholm the modern capital of Sweden, according to Andreas Carlsson at the National Board of Forensic Medicine of Sweden, belonged to Haplogroup I-M253. Birger Magnusson was the ancestor of a line of kings of both Sweden and Norway, starting with his son, Valdemar, King of Sweden.

Cao Cao, the Cao Wei State of Ancient China

Chinese warlord Cao Cao, who was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of the state of Cao Wei, belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup O-P31 according to DNA tests of some documented descendants. Ancient DNA analysis of the tooth of Cao Cao's granduncle, Cao Ding, showed that Cao Cao belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup O-M175.

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin belonged to haplogroup R1b based on a sample from his great-great-grandson.

Nurhaci

Haplogroup C3c has been identified as a possible marker of the Aisin Gioro ( who were founders of Qing dynasty ) and is found in ten different ethnic minorities in northern China, but completely absent from Han Chinese.

Genghis Khan

There are no living males known to descend directly from Genghis Khan, or any of his nearest male relatives. Many researchers have attempted to infer his haplogroup, according to various criteria, from those now prominent in Mongolia and other areas formerly part of the Mongol Empire.

Most researchers suggest that Genghis Khan belonged to C2 (C-M217), C3c (C-M48) or another subclade of C (C-M130). According to Family Tree DNA, Genghis Khan most likely belonged to haplogroup C-M217. An extended 25 Marker Y-DNA modal based on Mongolians matching the above modal haplotype in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation database, which also corresponds to the modal assigned to Genghis Khan released by Family Tree DNA:

Ysearch: GF44B

Oxford university's department of biochemistry gives an extended haplotype (SMGF standard allele count).

Ysearch: GF44B (78 Y-STRs)

According to Zerjal et al. (2003), Genghis Khan is believed to have belonged to Haplogroup C-M130711(xC3c-M48).

However, research published in 2016 based on ancient DNA from a Mongol burial site suggested that Genghis instead belonged to haplogroup R-M343 (R1b).

Gia Long

Gia Long, who was the first emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam founded by the Nguyễn-Phuoc family may have belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup O-M95 according to the DNA tests of one documented descendant (if paternity matches genealogy). Given the sample size, however, this result cannot be regarded as conclusive and further testing of other documented descendants is necessary to help confirm or refute this finding.

Adolf Hitler

According to research published in 2004, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany during 1933–1945, likely belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup E-M35 ("E1b1b1"), a haplogroup which originated in East Africa about 22,400 years BP.

In 2010, journalist Jean-Paul Mulders and historian Marc Vermeeren publicised analysis of samples taken from 39 patrilineal relatives of Hitler, supporting the above finding and pointing out this haplopgroup was now common among Berbers, Somalis and Jews. Mulders contradicted interpretations of his research by some media outlets, which claimed that Hitler definitely had Jewish ancestry. Mulders commented:

I never wrote that Hitler was a Jew, or that he had a Jewish grandfather. I only wrote that Hitler's haplogroup is E1b1b, being more common among Berbers, Somalian people and Jews than among overall Germans. This, in order to convey that he was not exactly what during the Third Reich would have been called 'Aryan.' All the rest are speculations of journalists who didn't even take the trouble to read my article, although I had it translated into English especially for this purpose."

The accuracy of some of the coverage arising from this study was questioned. Professor Michael Hammer of Family Tree DNA said that "scientific studies as well as records from our own database[,] make it clear that one cannot reach the kind of conclusion featured in the published articles." Citing Family Tree DNA's own data that shows that more than 9% of the German and Austrian population has the identified haplotype, and that about 80% of these are not Jewish, Hammer concluded, "[t]his data clearly shows that just because one person belongs to the branch of the Y-chromosome referred to as haplogroup E1b1b, that does not mean the person is likely to be of Jewish ancestry."

Thomas Jefferson

Direct male-line descendants of a cousin of United States president Thomas Jefferson were DNA tested to investigate historical assertions that Jefferson fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings.

An extended 17-marker haplotype was published in 2007, and the company Family Tree DNA has also published results for other markers in its standard first 12-marker panel. Combining these sources gives the consolidated 21-marker haplotype below. The Jeffersons belong to Haplogroup T (M184) (formerly known as K2).

(Note: the value of DXYS 156Y was reported as 7 in the original paper. This is believed to translate to 12 in the convention now used by DNA testing labs and online databases).

King of France Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France belonged to haplogroup R1b (U106).

Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte belonged to haplogroup E1b1b1c1* (E-M34*). This haplogroup has its highest concentration in Ethiopia and in the Near East (Jordan). According to the authors of the study, "Probably Napoléon also knew his remote African patrilineal origins, because Francesco Buonaparte (the Giovanni son), who was a mercenary under the orders of the Genoa Republic in Ajaccio in 1490, was nicknamed “The Maur of Sarzane”.

Niall of the Nine Hostages

A study conducted at Trinity College, Dublin, found that a striking percentage of men in Ireland (and quite a few in Scotland) share the same Y chromosome. Niall established a dynasty of powerful chieftains who dominated the island for six centuries. Niall belongs to Haplogroup R1b1c7 (M222). It should be noted that Dr. Moore's results examined some different parts of DNA (loci) from the result given here. More recently, however, it has been determined that the emergence of R-M222 predates Niall and may be more than 2,000 years old. Therefore, not all men who belong to this haplogroup are descendants of Niall. A history of the lineage of Irish kings that was compiled by Irish monks, known as "the Annals of the Four Masters" lists "Conn of the Hundred Battles" among the ancestors of Niall. So, it may be that the haplogroup previously attributed to Niall is actually attributable to "Conn of the Hundred Battles".

Ysearch: M5UKQ

Fath Ali Shah Qajar

Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1772–1834), the second emperor/shah of the Qajar dynasty of Iran belonged to Haplogroup J-M267 with DYS388 = 13 as deducted from testing of descendants of several of his sons.

Somerled

In 2003 Oxford University researchers traced the Y-chromosome signature of Somerled of Argyll, one of Scotland's greatest warriors, who is credited with driving out the Vikings. He was also paternal grandfather of the founder of Clan Donald. Through clan genealogies, the genetic relation was mapped out. Somerled belongs to haplogroup R1a1.

In 2005 a study by Professor of Human Genetics Bryan Sykes of Oxford University led to the conclusion that Somerled has possibly 500,000 living descendants — making him the second most common historical ancestor after Genghis Khan. Sykes deduced that despite Somerled's reputation for having driven out the Vikings from Scotland, Somerled's own Y-DNA closely matched that of the Vikings he fought.

The Y-DNA sequence is as follows (12 markers):

Tõnu Trubetsky

R1a1a, shown not related to real Princes Trubetskoy.

Ysearch: WUZG2

Bure kinship from Sweden

The male lineage of the medieval Bure kinship from Sweden has been identified as Y-DNA haplogroup G2a, based on several BigY tests carried out in 2014 on people living today. Descendants of two of the sons of Old Olof (who was born about 1380) were identified as G-Y12970*, and descendants of his alleged brother Fale as G-Y16788. The test result supports genealogical information recorded in about 1610 by Johan Bure. The DNA results also disproved a branch that was later added to the family book.

Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett

Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett belong to Y-DNA haplogroup I1 which is most common in and around Scandinavia. However, they are not closely related.

Nick Donofrio

Nick Donofrio belongs to Y-DNA haplogroup J-M172.

Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard belongs to haplogroup I-M223 according to the documentary series Meet the Izzards.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, belonged to haplogroup E-V38 (also known as "E1B1a") typical of Bantu peoples.

Mike Nichols

Mike Nichols belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup J2a1b.

Dr. Mehmet Cengis Oz also known as Dr. Oz

Dr. Mehmet Oz belongs to Y-DNA haplogroup J2a1b.

Chris Rock

American comedian Chris Rock belongs to Y-DNA haplogroup B (subclade B2a1). He is paternally descended from the Udeme people of Cameroon.

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu, South African retired Archbishop of Cape Town, according to a study on Southern African genetics belongs to Y-DNA haplogroup E1b1a1g.

Spencer Wells

Spencer Wells, the project director of The Genographic Project, is a member of haplogroup R1b.