Elliotson, John (1719-1868)

British physician. He was one of the first in the British medical fraternity to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He ascertained that pollen is the cause of hay fever. Ellitoson practised hypnotism and mesmerism, and as a result was forced to resign his post at the University College Hospital in 1838. He edited a magazine, The Zoist, devoted to the subject, and founded a mesmeric hospital in 1849. Among his publications are: Lectures on Diseases of the Heart (1830), Human Physiology (1840), and Surgical Operations in the Mesmeric State without Pain (1843).

Elliotson was born in Southwark, London. He studied medicine at Edinburgh and Cambridge universities, and in 1834 became physician to University College Hospital. William Thackeray dedicated his Pendennis (1848) to Elliotson, who was also a friend of Charles Dickens.