Alexandre Jacques François Bertrand (25 April 1795 – 22 January 1831) was a French physician and

mesmerist Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans, ...

who was a native of

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. He was the father of

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Alexandre Bertrand Alexandre Louis Joseph Bertrand (11 June 1820 – 1902) was a French archaeologist born in Rennes. Life He was the son of physician Alexandre Jacques François Bertrand (1795-1831) and elder brother to mathematician Joseph Louis François ...

(1820–1902) and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Joseph Bertrand Joseph Louis François Bertrand (; 11 March 1822 – 5 April 1900) was a French mathematician whose work emphasized number theory, differential geometry, probability theory, economics and thermodynamics. Biography Joseph Bertrand was the son of ...

(1822–1900). He was also an ally of

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Pierre Leroux Pierre Henri Leroux (; 7 April 1797 – 12 April 1871) was a French philosopher and political economy, political economist. He was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, France, Paris, the son of an artisan. Life His education was interrupted by ...

(1798–1871) and the Saint-Simonians. Bertrand is remembered for his scientific investigations of

animal magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans ...

and

somnambulism Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of l ...

. In his public lectures on animal magnetism he spoke confidently about the existence of "magnetic fluid", but through experience and reflection he later changed his mind, becoming a leading critic of its existence.
A history of hypnotism by Alan Gauld From 1825 to 1830 Bertrand published numerous articles in the progressive journal ''

Le Globe ''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. Aft ...

''.

Selected writings

* ''Traité du somnambulisme et des différentes modifications qu'il présente'' (Treatise on sleepwalking and the various changes it presents), Paris, Dentu, 1823. * ** * ''Lettres sur la physique'', Paris, Bossange frères, 1824 and 1825. * ''De l'extase'' (Of Ecstasy), Paris, 1826. * ''Du magnétisme en France et des jugements qu'en ont porté les sociétés savantes'' (Of magnetism in France and judgments of the learned societies), Paris, Baillière, 1826.- Republication L'Harmattan, 2004 - .

References

*''This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

''.

External links

*
''Lettres sur les révolutions du globe''
(1824)
''Lettres sur les révolutions du globe''
(1826) - digital facsimiles from

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Alexandre Jacques Francois 1795 births 1831 deaths Physicians from Rennes 19th-century French physicians 19th-century French male writers French medical writers French male non-fiction writers