Sources

Report of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Other Commissioners Charged by the King of France with the Examination of Animal Magnetism

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Report of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Other Commissioners Charged by the King of France with the Examination of Animal Magnetism." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/report-of-dr-benjamin-franklin-and-other-commissioners-charged-by-the-king-of-france-with-the-examination-of-animal-magnetism.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Report of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Other Commissioners Charged by the King of France with the Examination of Animal Magnetism. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/report-of-dr-benjamin-franklin-and-other-commissioners-charged-by-the-king-of-france-with-the-examination-of-animal-magnetism

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-report-of-dr-benjamin-franklin-and-other,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Report of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Other Commissioners Charged by the King of France with the Examination of Animal Magnetism},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/report-of-dr-benjamin-franklin-and-other-commissioners-charged-by-the-king-of-france-with-the-examination-of-animal-magnetism},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

This is the 1784 report of the Royal Commission appointed by Louis XVI to examine Franz Anton Mesmer's animal magnetism, chaired by Benjamin Franklin and including Antoine Lavoisier and the astronomer Jean-Sylvain Bailly among its signatories, presented to the king on 11 August 1784. Its authority is exceptional for its date, the commission ran blinded, placebo-controlled trials on Mesmer's own patients and practitioners, widely credited by historians of science as among the earliest controlled clinical investigations, and concluded that the effects came from imagination rather than any physical magnetic fluid. Its limit is scope, it examines the specific claims and practice of Mesmer's own circle in 1784 Paris, not the later, quite different history of hypnosis and suggestion that grew out of animal magnetism, which needs a separate source to cover.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

The 1784 Franklin Commission report, the blinded, controlled royal investigation of Mesmer's animal magnetism presented to Louis XVI, led by Benjamin Franklin, Antoine Lavoisier and the Paris Faculty of Medicine and Academy of Sciences; widely credited as an early controlled clinical trial.

Notes

The Franklin Commission's blinded, controlled 1784 investigation of Mesmer's animal magnetism, presented to Louis XVI on 11 August 1784; widely credited as an early controlled clinical trial.

Citation

Author

Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Sylvain Bailly, Antoine Lavoisier, and the Commission of the Faculty of Medicine and the Academy of Sciences

Publisher

Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism, Paris

Publication Year

1784

Source Type

Government commissioned report

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Paris

This source names Paris directly: "of Mesmer's own circle in 1784 Paris, not the later, quite different history of hypnosis and suggestion that grew out of animal magnetism, which needs a separate source to cover."

Source Report of Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Other Commissioners Charged by the King of France with the Examination of Animal MagnetismBenjamin Franklin, Jean-Sylvain Bailly, Antoine Lavoisier, and the Commission of the Faculty of Medicine and the Academy of Sciences

Claims Backed By This Source (44 claims)

This source backs 44 claims across the atlas. As facts: 27 well-attested, 1 popular myth - corrected. As cited relationships: 8 holds, 2 critiqued Here. Plus 6 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Historical Figures, 19 claims: 12 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 critiqued Here, 3 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
Articles, 6 claims: 6 well-attested.
Studies, 6 claims: 2 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 general references.
Disciplines, 3 claims: 1 popular myth - corrected, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Subtle Energies, 2 claims: 1 critiqued Here, 1 general references.