Franz Mesmer

Franz Anton Mesmer (23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy.

He had a theory that there was a natural transfer of energy between all animated and inanimate objects. He called this animal magnetism, sometimes later referred to as mesmerism.Mesmer, Franz 1998. Mesmerism: the discovery of animal magnetism. (transl) Kaufman.  or Holmes.  The theory attracted a wide following between about 1780 and 1850, and continued to have some influence until the end of the century.Crabtree, Adam 1980. ''Animal magnetism, early hypnotism, and psychical research, 1766–1925: an annotated bibliography. White Plains, NY: Kraus International, Introduction.  In 1843 the Scottish physician James Braid proposed the term hypnosis for 'animal magnetism'. Today this is the usual term for mesmerism.

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Category:1734 births
Category:1815 deaths
Category:German doctors