Robert Hanham Collyer | |
|---|---|
 Robert Hanham Collyer | |
| Born | 1814 |
| Died | c. 1891 New Orleans, US |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, phrenologist, mesmerist, lecturer, author, inventor |
| Years active | 19th-century |
Robert Hanham Collyer (1814 – c. 1891) was a British physician, phrenologist, mesmerist, lecturer, author, and inventor mostly active on the east coast of America and Canada during the 19th-century.
Collyer was known for his showmanship and became a popular traveling lecturer. In 1839, he discovered, conceived, and promoted the practice of "phreno-magnetism", but relinquished his claims as mistaken by mid-1843.
He was also involved in a number of scandals and rivalries, including a claim that he originated inhalation anesthesia for surgery before William T. G. Morton, who is generally credited with the discovery.