Franz Anton Mesmer born May 23, 1734 in the village of Iznang, now part of Moos, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. The father of hypnosis, Mesmer led a life plagued by intrigue and scandal.
Mesmerism, next to my picture in the dictionary. (Of course, he never said that.)
He attended the University of Vienna in 1759. In 1766 he published his doctoral dissertation called “On the Influence of the Planets on the Human Body”.
By 1768 he married Anna Maria von Posch, a wealthy widow not a Spice Girl, and secured his place as a physician in Vienna.
Later that year court intrigue thwarted a performance of La Finta Semplice, which then 12-year-old Mozart wrote 500 pages, Mesmer purportedly hosted Mozart’s performance in his garden of an earlier work, Bastien und Bastienne to make up for it. Mozart later immortalized his former patron in a comedic reference in his opera Cosi fan tutte.
Mesmer founded a school in Vienna where he practiced his healing through animal magnetism, controlling the magnetic fluid through the use of pieces of iron and conductive minerals the patient would swallow.
During this time he accepted as a patient a blind pianist, Maria Theresia Paradis, blind from the age of 4 and a protege to the empress Maria Theresa. Using his animal magnetism he partially cured her blindness, however, her parents withdrew her from Mesmer’s care where she relapsed into blindness and Mesmer’s reputation became damaged as rumors followed.
Much controversy remains over the incident either because the parents received a pension so long as their daughter was blind, that her “sight” was only based on the suggestions of seeing things or that Mesmer had seduced her. Whatever really happened the incident forced Mesmer to move to Paris in 1778 to begin again.
Seventeenth century Paris a hotbed of mystics, spiritual teachers, scholars and prophets, Mesmer soon built a reputation as a miracle worker capable of curing anything short of death. Trouble followed Mesmer like iron to magnets. In 1784 Louis XVI appointed a committee consisting of several notable doctors and naturalist of the time including American Ambassador, Benjamin Franklin, to investigate the viability of magnetic phenomena.
The committee never met with Mesmer but with a disciple, Charles d’Eslon, private physician to the Count d’Artois (one of King Louis’ brothers). They concluded that Mesmer’s magnetic rays did not exist but that it was self suggestion, and the treatment was dangerous to women since it may remove their inhibitions. He fled Paris in 1785, his reputation destroyed.
By 1790 he found himself in Vienna settling the estate of his deceased wife.
In 1803 he settled in Switzerland. By then the Academy of Berlin acknowledge the validity of Mesmer’s work and sent Professor Wolfart to invite him to Berlin. Mesmer, now an old man, declined. So Wolfart remained to collect Mesmer’s knowledge until his death on March 5, 1815.
Dave, feel free to skip the next line because you graciously pretended it worked when I used it on you the first time. . .
Look deep into my VOWELS as I mesmerize you. (Repeat after me Wolfart, Wolfart, Wolfart.)
Tracy—Fannie Cranium’s Guide to Irreverent Wisdom
Courtesy of Dave
The Blog of Funny Names 
How’s you find this guy, Tracy? Either he was gifted and brilliant or a creepy faker . Maybe both? Lol the part about lowering the inhibitions of the ladies. This one smacks of a 2-hour TV drama. You can write the script 🙂
The creepy factor sure does come out. I wonder if Hallmark Entertainment would pick it up. lol.
They totally should! I’d watch it!
P.S. I found him when I was trying to spell mesmerize and had to look it up the old fashioned way in the dictionary. 🙂
He was such a fascinating read, I couldn’t put it down. . .500 words only gave us the highlights. You could say he mesmerized me. But my husband’s convinced it didn’t lower my inhibitions. 🙂
A lot of my favorite funny names were found in really peculiar places. Once you start noticing funny names, you can find them everywhere. It’s a fun little journey of discovery!
Lol about your comment about your husband 🙂
Dave–now that you’ve got me hooked, I’m finding names all over the place.
It’s a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing, except when you’re talking to someone with a funny name and can’t suppress a chuckle. They don’t always enjoy their name as much as you do 🙂 Hopefully our blog can help them embrace just how awesome it is to have an amazing, funny name. It sure as heck beats “Dave”!
I like the blessing part. It makes me appreciate people’s names that much more. 🙂
I second that idea! I would totally watch this on tv 😀
All kinds of entertaining as always, my friend. Loved the part about self suggestion being considered dangerous as it might lower a woman’s inhibitions! *gasp!* What a terrifying thought 😉
It could be something like Dangerous Liaisons meets Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. 🙂
Fannie! Your psychic streak continues! First the TARDIS licence plate, now this: I’m meeting a friend for dinner tonight who I watch DRS with at least once a year. Her dream is to get a dog and name it Ruprecht.
LOL-I love the dog named Ruprecht! Maybe we can work him in as a side character if your friend doesn’t mind. 🙂
Mind? She’d love it. She knows all about all the fun/swooning/more fun that goes on around here 🙂
Then Ruprecht is in!
yes yes yes brilliant on the concept! Dirty Rotten Liaisons? Mesmerizing Scoundrel? Love that you found him in the dictionary. And funny about your husband’s comment. heehee.
Who should we have amb line up for the role of Mesmer?
I love the way you think, but how do you choose between such title gems?
P.S. Don’t you think Paul Giamatti would be interesting. . .
Paul is perfect. Hoping Amb can connect. Will leave title selection (and script writing) to you, but if you need treats for the green room, I’m there 🙂 (I’ll be there in the green room–didn’t mean I’d actually bring anything. haha–of course I will. What do you think Paul likes better: doritos or tostitos?)
Ooh, yes, Paul is perfect! Good call. I feel like he’d be a Tostitos man, lol. And wine too, of course, in honour of “Sideways”. Who’s going to play our sometimes-cured patient? Parker Posey, maybe, just for Dave?
I’ll bet Parker Posey would knock our socks off!
Parker Posey is sooooooo amazing! Probably my favorite actress (in terms of someone I like for her acting rather than for being Milla Jovovich and just being all around awesome except in the area of script selection). How is it that I haven’t done a Parker Posey post yet? I’m ashamed of myself!
Dave you have a mission, Parker Posey as a post. Can’t wait to read it.
Haha, back in those days it probably was 🙂
Reblogged this on Fannie Cranium's and commented:
This month’s contribution to the Blog of Funny Names. Franz Mesmer will mesmerize you. 🙂 Enjoy.
Also, I saw this draft sitting in the drafts folder for a while but never guessed that “animal magnetism” actually meant applying magnets to animals in this particular case. What an odd duck!
Heehee–good one!
I have to agree. He was an odd duck even by today’s standards. I bet he would make for an interesting movie.
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