Case file · Official inquiry
The royal commission on animal magnetism
In 1784, Louis XVI appointed a commission including Benjamin Franklin and Lavoisier to test Franz Mesmer's 'animal magnetism'; blind trials showed the effects came from imagination.
1784 CE · 48.87, 2.33 · status: official
The account
It is often cited as the first controlled, blinded experiment. Patients reacted to 'magnetised' trees that were not and failed to react to ones that were.