Maximilian Hell (1720-1792)

Father Hell was Royal Astronomer in Vienna and an important figure in the history of hypnotism. He became famous for healing with steel magnets and attracted the attention of the Austrian physician Franz Mesmer (from whose name the words “mesmerism” and “mesmerize” are derived). Mesmer discovered that he could heal without the magnets and concluded that the healing must be mediated by an invisible ‘fluid’ that occupied space.