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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. 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.


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