PHYSICIAN

Franz Mesmer

1734 - 1815

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Franz Anton Mesmer ( MEZ-mər; German: [ˈmɛsmɐ]; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorized the existence of a process of natural energy transference occurring between all animate and inanimate objects; this he called "animal magnetism", later referred to as mesmerism. Mesmer's theory attracted a wide following between about 1780 and 1850, and continued to have some influence until the end of the 19th century. In 1843, the Scottish doctor James Braid proposed the term "hypnotism" for a technique derived from animal magnetism; today the word "mesmerism" generally functions as a synonym of "hypnosis". Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Franz Mesmer is the 67th most popular physician (down from 50th in 2019), the 37th most popular biography from Switzerland (up from 39th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Swiss Physician.

Franz Mesmer is most famous for his theory of animal magnetism. He believed that there was a magnetic fluid in the body that could be manipulated by the hands to cure illness.

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Among PHYSICIANS

Among physicians, Franz Mesmer ranks 67 out of 726. Before him are Samuel Hahnemann, Gerhard Domagk, Jean-Martin Charcot, Francesco Redi, António Egas Moniz, and René Laennec. After him are Robert Bellarmine, André Frédéric Cournand, Otto Loewi, Hilary of Poitiers, William P. Murphy, and Christiaan Barnard.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1734, Franz Mesmer ranks 2. Before him is Maria I of Portugal. After him are Daniel Boone, Taksin, François-Joseph Gossec, Anna Göldi, Sophie of France, Wolfgang von Kempelen, Cardinal de Rohan, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, Grigory Orlov, and Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière. Among people deceased in 1815, Franz Mesmer ranks 4. Before him are Joachim Murat, Michel Ney, and Sarah Baartman. After him are Robert Fulton, Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Jan Potocki, Guillaume Brune, Carsten Niebuhr, Emma, Lady Hamilton, José María Morelos, and Smithson Tennant.

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In Switzerland

Among people born in Switzerland, Franz Mesmer ranks 37 out of 1,015. Before him are Albert Hofmann (1906), Jacob Burckhardt (1818), Emil Theodor Kocher (1841), Joan Gamper (1877), Carlo Maderno (1556), and Felix Bloch (1905). After him are Johann Jakob Balmer (1825), Paul Hermann Müller (1899), Jacques Necker (1732), Carl Spitteler (1845), Aga Khan IV (1936), and Benjamin Constant (1767).

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Among PHYSICIANS In Switzerland

Among physicians born in Switzerland, Franz Mesmer ranks 3. Before him are Paracelsus (1493), and Emil Theodor Kocher (1841). After him are Eugen Bleuler (1857), Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926), Walter Rudolf Hess (1881), Alexandre Yersin (1863), Rolf M. Zinkernagel (1944), Albrecht von Haller (1708), Friedrich Miescher (1844), Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672), and Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867).

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