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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Franz Mesmer has received more than 1,038,986 page views. His biography is available in 44 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 41 in 2019). Franz Mesmer is the 50th most popular physician (down from 45th in 2019), the 39th most popular biography from Switzerland (up from 341st in 2019) and the 2nd 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.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 67.46

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 44

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.08

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.04

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICIANS

Among physicians, Franz Mesmer ranks 50 out of 726. Before him are Hua Tuo, Samuel Hahnemann, Otto Heinrich Warburg, Christiaan Eijkman, Hilary of Poitiers, and Otto Fritz Meyerhof. After him are Eugen Bleuler, Herbert Spencer Gasser, Robert Bellarmine, René Laennec, Djer, and Philippe Pinel.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1734, Franz Mesmer ranks 1. After him are Maria I of Portugal, Taksin, François-Joseph Gossec, Sophie of France, Cardinal de Rohan, Anna Göldi, Wolfgang von Kempelen, Grigory Orlov, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière, and Joseph Wright of Derby. Among people deceased in 1815, Franz Mesmer ranks 6. Before him are Joachim Murat, Michel Ney, Sarah Baartman, Robert Fulton, and Louis-Alexandre Berthier. After him are Jan Potocki, Emma, Lady Hamilton, Carsten Niebuhr, Guillaume Brune, José María Morelos, and 9th Dalai Lama.

Others Born in 1734

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Others Deceased in 1815

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In Switzerland

Among people born in Switzerland, Franz Mesmer ranks 39 out of 1,015. Before him are Carlo Maderno (1556), Hermann Rorschach (1884), K. Alex Müller (1927), Karl Barth (1886), Adelaide of Italy (931), and Ursula Andress (1936). After him are Eugen Bleuler (1857), Jacob Bernoulli (1654), Angelica Kauffman (1741), Felix Bloch (1905), Albert II, Duke of Austria (1298), and Emil Theodor Kocher (1841).

Others born in Switzerland

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Among PHYSICIANS In Switzerland

Among physicians born in Switzerland, Franz Mesmer ranks 2. Before him are Paracelsus (1493). After him are Eugen Bleuler (1857), Emil Theodor Kocher (1841), Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926), Walter Rudolf Hess (1881), Alexandre Yersin (1863), Friedrich Miescher (1844), Albrecht von Haller (1708), Rolf M. Zinkernagel (1944), Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672), and Maximilian Bircher-Benner (1867).

Swiss born Physicians

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