The First Blind Medical Trials

Cures and treatments have always offered potential riches to their inventors. But how was one supposed to know what worked and what didn’t? 

Metallic Tractors, by James Gillray, 1801 © Wellcome Images.

In his satirical poem, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809), Lord Byron mocked medical charlatans who repeatedly introduced new gimmicks in order to extort large sums of money from gullible customers:

What varied wonders tempt us as they pass!
The Cow-pox, Tractors, Galvanism, Gas,
In turns appear to make the vulgar stare,
Till the swoll’n bubble bursts – and all is air.

To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.

Buy Online Access  Buy Print & Archive Subscription

If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.

Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.