James Braid



James Braid (1795 – March 25, 1860) was a Scottish neurosurgeon who coined the term and invented the procedure known as hypnotism.

Born in Fife and educated at the University of Edinburgh, Braid practised in Scotland for a short time, then moved to Manchester, England, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Braid became interested in mesmerism in November 1841, when he observed demonstrations given by a traveling mesmerist named Charles Lafontaine (1803 - 1892). Convinced that he had discovered the key to understanding these phenomena, Braid began giving lectures the following month.

In 1843 he published Neurypnology: or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep, his first and only book-length exposition of his views. In this book he coined the words hypnotism, hypnotize, and hypnotist, which remain in use. Braid thought of hypnotism as producing a "nervous sleep" which differed from ordinary sleep. The most efficient way to produce it was through visual fixation on a small bright object held eighteen inches above and in front of the eyes. Braid regarded the physiological condition underlying hypnotism to be the over-exercising of the eye muscles through the straining of attention.

He completely rejected Franz Mesmer's idea that a magnetic fluid caused hypnotic phenomena, because anyone could produce them in "himself by attending strictly to the simple rules" that Braid laid down. Braidism is a synonym for hypnotism, though it is used infrequently.

In 1997 Braid’s part in developing hypnosis for therapeutic purposes was acknowledged by the creation of the James Braid Society, a discussion group for those “involved or concerned in the ethical uses of hypnosis.”  The society meets once a month in central London, usually for a presentation on some aspect of hypnotherapy.