Described the use of magnets for therapeutic and medicinal purposes. Carried out elaborate placebo healings by applying steel plates to the bodies of the ill. Mesmer saw this and was inspired.

Maximilian Hell was a Hungarian astronomer and Jesuit priest. He had an interest in both astronomy and magnet therapy. He was especially interested in the medical use of magnets, and had successfully used magnetic plates reduce pain from diseases such as rheumatism. By applying magnets to his patients’ ailing parts, he achieved the excellent expected placebo rate of success.

When Mesmer watched Hell heal patients by applying magnetized steel plates to their bodies, he knew that magnets were the future of medicine. He applied Hell’s magnet therapy with great success. But over time he developed a new model to explain how the treatment was working.