Elisha Perkins
Encyclopedia
Elisha Perkins was a United States
physician
who created his own therapy, Perkins Patent Tractors.
. He was educated by his father Joseph Perkins in Plainfield, Connecticut
, where he later practiced medicine with success. Around 1795–96 Perkins invented his "Tractors", for which he took out a 14-year patent
on February 19, 1796. The tractors consisted of two 3-inch metal rods with a point at the end. Although they were made of steel
and brass
, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual metal alloys. Perkins used his rods to cure inflammation
, rheumatism
and pain in the head and the face. He applied the points on the aching body part and passed them over the part for about 20 minutes. Perkins claimed they could "draw off the noxious electrical fluid that lay at the root of suffering".
The Connecticut Medical Society condemned the tractors as "delusive quackery", and expelled Perkins from membership on the grounds that he was "a patentee and user of nostrums". Perkins nevertheless managed to convince three US medical faculties that his method worked. In Copenhagen
, Denmark
, twelve surgeons at the Royal Frederick Hospital also began to support the method. Even George Washington
bought a set. Other physicians' criticisms were met with charges of elitism and professional arrogance. Perkins boasted of 5,000 cured cases. The cures were certified to by eight professors, forty physicians, and thirty clergymen. Of the purchase made by Washington, Perkins' son, Benjamin Perkins, said that the "President of the United States, convinced of the importance of the discovery from experiments in his own family, availed himself of its advantages by purchasing a set of the Tractors for their use".
Benjamin Perkins was a bookseller and introduced the tractors to London
. There a Perkinsian Institution for the benefit of the poor was founded under the presidency of Lord Rivers
. In 1798, Benjamin published The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body. In October 1799, an advertisement in The Times
said that "The tractors, with every necessary direction for using them in Families, may be had for 5 guinea
s the set, of Mr. Perkins, of Leicester Square; or of Mr. Frederic Smith, Chemist & Druggist, in the Haymarket".
Aylmer Bourke Lambert
, a British botanist, is on record as having written in January 1800 to Richard Pulteney
of Blandford (now Blandford Forum), in the English
county of Dorset
, as follows:
Shortly before his death Elisha Perkins also invented antiseptic medicine and used it for dysentery
and sore throat
. In 1799 he went to New York
to try his methods during a yellow fever
epidemic but died of the disease himself four weeks later.
After Perkins' death, British physicians began to have doubts about his tractors. In 1799, Dr. John Haygarth
conducted a test in which he treated five rheumatic patients with wooden tractors that were made to resemble the metallic ones. Four of them reported that the pain was relieved. The next day the patients were treated with metallic tractors with the same results. Dr. Haygarth reported on his findings in a publication entitled On the Imagination as a Cause & as a Cure of Disorders of the Body. Attempts to use the tractors to cure animals proved futile.
By this time, Perkins had numerous influential supporters and the sale of the tractors continued. In 1803, Thomas G. Fessenden published his poem “Terrible Tractoration” in favor of Perkins and as a satire on other physicians.
Benjamin Perkins died in 1810. Only after that did the popularity of the tractors began to wane.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who created his own therapy, Perkins Patent Tractors.
Biography
Elisha Perkins was born 1741 in Norwich, ConnecticutNorwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
. He was educated by his father Joseph Perkins in Plainfield, Connecticut
Plainfield, Connecticut
Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,619 at the 2000 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield , Moosup , Wauregan , and Central Village . Each village has their own respective United States Post Office and fire department...
, where he later practiced medicine with success. Around 1795–96 Perkins invented his "Tractors", for which he took out a 14-year patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on February 19, 1796. The tractors consisted of two 3-inch metal rods with a point at the end. Although they were made of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual metal alloys. Perkins used his rods to cure inflammation
Inflammation
Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...
, rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
and pain in the head and the face. He applied the points on the aching body part and passed them over the part for about 20 minutes. Perkins claimed they could "draw off the noxious electrical fluid that lay at the root of suffering".
The Connecticut Medical Society condemned the tractors as "delusive quackery", and expelled Perkins from membership on the grounds that he was "a patentee and user of nostrums". Perkins nevertheless managed to convince three US medical faculties that his method worked. In Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, twelve surgeons at the Royal Frederick Hospital also began to support the method. Even George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
bought a set. Other physicians' criticisms were met with charges of elitism and professional arrogance. Perkins boasted of 5,000 cured cases. The cures were certified to by eight professors, forty physicians, and thirty clergymen. Of the purchase made by Washington, Perkins' son, Benjamin Perkins, said that the "President of the United States, convinced of the importance of the discovery from experiments in his own family, availed himself of its advantages by purchasing a set of the Tractors for their use".
Benjamin Perkins was a bookseller and introduced the tractors to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There a Perkinsian Institution for the benefit of the poor was founded under the presidency of Lord Rivers
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC was the second son of Thomas, 3rd Earl; and after the death about 1680 of his elder brother Thomas, styled Viscount Colchester, he was designated by that title until he succeeded to the peerage....
. In 1798, Benjamin published The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body. In October 1799, an advertisement in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said that "The tractors, with every necessary direction for using them in Families, may be had for 5 guinea
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
s the set, of Mr. Perkins, of Leicester Square; or of Mr. Frederic Smith, Chemist & Druggist, in the Haymarket".
Aylmer Bourke Lambert
Aylmer Bourke Lambert
Aylmer Bourke Lambert was a British botanist, one of the first fellows of the Linnean Society.He is best known for his work A description of the genus Pinus, issued in several parts 1803-1824, a sumptuously illustrated folio volume detailing all of the conifers then known...
, a British botanist, is on record as having written in January 1800 to Richard Pulteney
Richard Pulteney
Richard Pulteney was an English physician and botanist. He was a promoter of Linnaean taxonomy, and authored the first English language biography of Carl Linnaeus, entitled A General View of the Writings of Linnaeus. He was educated at Loughborough Grammar School, and a school house was named...
of Blandford (now Blandford Forum), in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, as follows:
I breakfasted with Sir Joseph [BanksJoseph BanksSir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
] on Monday morning who is recovered from the Gout and in high Spirits. We had a good deal of laughing about the Tractors. Perkins has published several Cases communicated by my Father, and presented me with a copy of his Book.
Shortly before his death Elisha Perkins also invented antiseptic medicine and used it for dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and sore throat
Sore throat
A sore throat or throat pain is a common physical symptom usually caused by acute pharyngitis, or throat inflammation, though it also occurs in a number of other situations, such as post trauma and in diphtheria. It can cause mild to extreme pain....
. In 1799 he went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to try his methods during a yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic but died of the disease himself four weeks later.
After Perkins' death, British physicians began to have doubts about his tractors. In 1799, Dr. John Haygarth
John Haygarth
John Haygarth was an important 18th-century British physician who discovered new ways to prevent the spread of fever among patients and reduce the mortality rate of smallpox....
conducted a test in which he treated five rheumatic patients with wooden tractors that were made to resemble the metallic ones. Four of them reported that the pain was relieved. The next day the patients were treated with metallic tractors with the same results. Dr. Haygarth reported on his findings in a publication entitled On the Imagination as a Cause & as a Cure of Disorders of the Body. Attempts to use the tractors to cure animals proved futile.
By this time, Perkins had numerous influential supporters and the sale of the tractors continued. In 1803, Thomas G. Fessenden published his poem “Terrible Tractoration” in favor of Perkins and as a satire on other physicians.
Benjamin Perkins died in 1810. Only after that did the popularity of the tractors began to wane.