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Ok, tweeps. It's #Victorian story time. Today I want to introduce you to a man whose last name was definitely Berigny, but whose first name may have been Thiennette or Alexandre Thiennette. /1
(Img: http://www.historyofhomeopathy.com.au/component/content/article/10-people/41-berigny.html)
(Img: http://www.historyofhomeopathy.com.au/component/content/article/10-people/41-berigny.html)
In the early 1860s, the well-travelled Berigny was happily practicing homeopathic medicine in Australia. He supposedly had degrees from the College of Surgeons of Paris and the Western Homeopathic College in the US. /2
In Australia he had been giving lectures about homeopathy to the public since at least 1855. But then in 1862 a new law required all medical practitioners to register, and most likely Berigny's degrees were considered invalid because they were foreign /3
and in homeopathy, which many people at the time considered junk science. So what did he do?
Like a lot of other people around this time, he moved to Calcutta! /4
Like a lot of other people around this time, he moved to Calcutta! /4
In Calcutta, he was the first one to introduce homeopathic medicine in a big way. He met mixed reviews. On the one hand, several influential members of the Bengali intellectual class were very impressed with his work. This included one Rajendralal Dutta. /5
Rajendralal Dutta was an important entrepreneur in the city, and was engaged in the very lucrative American trade. He quickly became a convert to homeopathy and even started to practice as a lay practitioner. /6 (Img: @peabodyessex )
Most importantly, Rajendralal Dutta went into business with Berigny to open the first homeopathic medical store in Calcutta, located in the area of Lal Bazaar across from the police headquarters. Here is an advertisement for the shop! /7
(Img: Calcutta Journal of Medicine)
(Img: Calcutta Journal of Medicine)
Berigny also introduced something else to Calcutta that was EXTREMELY VICTORIAN. Any guesses what that might be?
/8
/8
If you guessed #Spiritualism you would be correct!
Berigny was the one to really start the practice of spiritualism, complete with planchettes and seances, to Calcutta. This then took off in a big way. /9
Berigny was the one to really start the practice of spiritualism, complete with planchettes and seances, to Calcutta. This then took off in a big way. /9
To know more about how Calcutta's society reacted to all of the Victorian weirdness, join my #VictorianCalcutta virtual walk by @immersivetrails ! The next one is today Dec 20th at 7 PM Indian time/8:30 AM US EST https://bit.ly/2WsDqDQ
You can also follow me here for more threads like this one! Thanks for reading!
