DR. FRANZ MESMER (1734-1815)
Dr.
Franz Friedrich Anton Mesmer was an Austrian physician
who was infamous for inducing a hypnotic and trancelike
state in human beings as a curative remedy. This process
of mesmerism, as it soon became known, was
powerful enough to excercise an extraordinary influence
on the human body. The doctor labeled this ability as
animal magnetism.
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In 1772, Mesmer first began to
develop and refine his technique, and three years later
he published a report on his discovery, under the claim
that it possesssed medicinal value. Mesmer's system
included the use of the glass armonica as a hypnotic
device, because the sounds produced were extremely
high-pitched and ethereal. Incidentally, in 1785 the
French government appointed a committee of physicians and
scientists to investigate the work of the Austrian. Their
incriminating findings forced Mesmer into a life of shame
and disrepute. Nevertheless, the world will never forget
Dr. Mesmer, who pioneered the field of hypnotic therapy.
