Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Theranos of the Late 1800s
By: Erik Gaasedelen
Tags: Writing, San Francisco, Medicine, Inventions, Technology

The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Monument, just south from Lafayette Park

Within the Pacific Heights district of San Francisco, on the south side of the picturesque Lafayette Park, a small ornate house sits wedged between two larger complexes. Near its front entrance, a plaque proudly reads: “This house, built in 1881, was once occupied by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’’. Conan Doyle’s visit was not for his authorship of Sherlock Holmes. Prior to his literary career he studied medicine and botany. San Francisco was one stop on a speaking tour, culminating a fifteen years of medical education. During his brief visit, he made a quick visit to a fellow physician by the name of Dr. Albert Abrams. Conan Doyle never stayed the night, rather sleeping at a local hotel. It turns out the plaque is an exaggeration at best and a complete lie at worst. This story is not about Conan Doyle, but rather about Abrams, one of the most impressive con-artists of his time.

Incidentally, the first Sherlock Holmes novel title, “A Study in Scarlet”, written in 1887, is set in 1881.

Born in San Francisco in 1863, Abrams quickly rose to prominence in the medical community. He authored medical books and served as heads of diverse departments in the medical arts, including pathology, neurology, and even as the president of the San Francisco Surgical Society. He was also an avid inventor and took interest in the nascent development of radio communication and electricity. Combining his eccentricity, shallow understanding of electromagnetic radiation, and late 1800s knowledge of medicine, he created what is now known as radionics, a pseudoscientific subset of alternative medicine that asserts that diseases can be diagnosed and cured using magnetic fields or radio waves.

A diagram of Abrams’ dynamizer

He was quickly able to amass a following, leasing his radionics machines to gullible customers. The profits eventually promoted Abrams to millionaire status. ($1 million in 1890s dollars would be at least $30 billion today). This isn’t to say that Abrams was not a known charlatan. The American Medical Association had noted him as the “dean of gadget quacks.”

The oscilloclast was supposed to target and cure any pathology

One of his most profitable inventions was the dynamizer. To use this device you would simply apply a drop of blood onto a piece of filter paper. The paper would connect to wires which would connect to the device which would connect to the patient with more wires. (Also the patient is facing west in dim light.) The physician could then use the device to locate a diseased area and then use a different one of Abrams’ electro-vibrational devices to cure it.

Over time Abrams became the target of criticism among respected medical professionals who would use controlled studies to debunk his claims. Nevertheless, Abrams was able to amass strong support from notable persons including Upton Sinclair, and, of course, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Blood test inventors separated by more than a century

It is hard to ignore the parallels between some of our more modern happens. A prominent and charismatic medical inventor pushing false narratives for blood test diagnostics, averting criticism through the strength of their money and network. It is strikingly similar to the rise and fall of Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes.

Although he is an antagonist, it is fascinating the degree to which Abrams was able to create a narrative, disseminate it, and profit from it. The descriptions he gave for his devices are comical in retrospect, but this was also at a time when emerging power and communication technologies were indistinguishable from magic. Why not believe that these could directly be used for medical treatment? It is tough to say we wouldn’t fall into the same trap with respect to technologies like, say, microfluidics. Even more ironic was that Abrams was not fundamentally wrong! Magnetism is, in fact, exceptionally useful for medical imaging diagnosis! He just jumped the gun and lied to people in fantastical ways.

And that was the magic of Abrams. His schemes were sticky. To be defended by the eventual author of Sherlock Holmes, a character whose primary personality trait was unrelenting empiricism in the face of petty belief is nothing short of incredible. And what does Abrams do after his short afternoon visit from Conan Doyle? He hangs up a plaque that says his house was “once occupied” by the esteemed author. It is an Abrams hoax that has been proudly displayed on that house for well over a century!! A far more interesting plaque would read that “Abrams once owned the premises.” And yet what is more fitting a memorial to a con artist than an inscribed gold plate which keeps his trickery alive.