Cause of Death

[gwrayner]

Good evening, can anyone help me with the cause of death in the attached image please?

[Gadget]

It looks like Gum Cancer

[Sinann]

I was just thinking the same, Gum Cancer, what we would call mouth cancer I guess.

[Treetotal]

That was my first impression when I read it.
Carol
 

[Milliepede]

I thought Green but Gum would make more sense.

[Billyblue]

It would be interesting to know when this happened?

In the late 1970s/early 1980s a fellow worked for the organisation where I was CEO.
He developed mouth/gum cancer from a wartime occupation.
He had been employed putting the luminescent stuff on numerals on watches for RAF pilots - later found to have been radioactive - so they could see the time in dim light. 
They used to put the paint brushes in their mouth to make a tip, for painting the tiny places, and of course some of the paint would be on them.

Dawn M

[avm228]

From the filename it looks as though this death occurred in 1854.

[mckha489]

I would think people who hand painted China would be similarly vulnerable, although more due to the heavy metals in the pigments than the radioactive luminescent paints you refer to.

Who else used to keep their compass with luminous figures under their pillow at night (to stop my brothers pinching it!)?

Unfortunately the numbers of oral cancers are increasing.  Many related to the Herpes virus. Hence the usefulness of the HPV vaccine.

The usual culprits of alcohol and tobacco appear too.   Especially chewing tobacco.
A thing called Betel Nut which is also chewed,

And of course some appear in people who one would expect to have no predisposition
When people used Snuff, they used to get nasal carcinomas.

[gwrayner]

Many thanks for all your comments.

The certificate is for my 5th great grandfather who died in 1854 aged 85. He was a weaver so I guess the cancer could be related to his occupation?