Syphilis was allegedly introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus and his men upon returning from the new world. Its seems only fair that it happened this way, after the Europeans brought over an abundance of diseases to the Americas. Another hypothesis states that syphilis was endemic in Africa and made its way up to the Meiterranean. Soon syphilis became wide spread and by the 1600's nearly 25% of Europe was infected.
Looking back, many historians believe that many famous people suffered from the symptoms of tertiary syphilis such as, blindness, insanity and a shuffling walk. This list includes Al Capone, HenryVIII, Adolf Hitler, Scott Joplin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde and Kaiser Wilhelm.