Franz Anton Mesmer, pioneer in magnetic energy healing. His technique became known as Mesmerism, and was the forerunner of hypnotism. Courtesy Fortean Picture Library.

Mesmer, Franz Anton (1734–1815)

Franz Anton Mesmer was born in the village of Iznang near Lake Constance, Austria, in 1734. He studied theology and medicine. At the age of thirty-two he obtained a degree in medicine from Vienna University, the subject of his thesis being the magnetic influence of the planets on the human body (De planetarum Influxu—“The Influence of the Stars and Planets as Creative Powers”). This interest was inspired by the teachings of Paracelsus. Mesmer became convinced that there was a healing magnetic power in his own hands. He termed this force “animal magnetism,” first using the term in 1775. The idea that a magnet had curative powers had been quite common in the Middle Ages, with people believing that a magnet or magnetic lodestone could literally draw out illness from the human body.

Mesmer believed that the cures which he brought about, especially on hysterical patients, were the result of entirely natural phenomena. News of his “magnetic séances” spread rapidly and people flocked to his home from all over Europe. However, the conventional medical fraternity accused him of practicing magic, and in 1778 he was ordered to leave Austria. He went to Paris.

The historian Deleuze describes Mesmer’s methods, saying, “In the middle of a large room stood an oak tub—the famous baquet, four or five feet in diameter and one foot deep; it was closed by a lid made in two pieces, and encased in another tub or bucket. At the bottom of the tub a number of bottles were laid in convergent rows, so that the neck of each bottle turned towards the center. Other bottles filled with magnetized water tightly corked down were laid in divergent rows were laid with their necks turned outwards. Several rows were thus piled up and the apparatus was then pronounced to be at high pressure. The tub was filled with water, to which was sometimes added powdered glass and iron filings. There were also some dry tubs, that is, prepared in the same manner but without any additional water. The lid was perforated to admit the passage of movable bent iron rods, which could be applied to different parts of the patients’ bodies. A long rope was also fastened to a ring in the lid, and this the patients placed loosely around their limbs … The patients drew near to one another, touching hands, arms, knees, or feet. The handsomest, youngest and most robust magnetizers held also an iron rod with which they touched the dilatory or stubborn patients … In the midst of the panting, quivering throng, Mesmer, dressed in a lilac coat, moved about extending a magic wand towards the least suffering, halting in front of the most violently excited and gazing steadfastly into their eyes, while he held their hands in his, bringing the middle fingers in immediate contact, to establish the communication.” This communication became known as “Mesmerism” and was the forerunner of hypnotism.

Mesmer and his cures became immensely popular but many considered him a charlatan. By 1784, the French government appointed a special commission of scientists and physicians to investigate his work, though he himself refused to submit to them. The commission therefore investigated one of his disciples, Dr. Delson. Among the investigators were the American Ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin, the chemist Lavoisier, and Guillotin, inventor of the guillotine. The commission reported that Mesmer did indeed affect cures but attributed them not to animal magnetism but to some unknown physiological cause. As a result of this, Mesmer was lumped together with other quacks and his popularity waned. He finally retired to private life in Versailles. He moved to Switzerland in 1814 and took up residence in a village near his native Iznang. He died there in 1815.

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