Mary Toft, in an engraving based on a painting by John Laguerre in 1726
Born
Mary Denyer
c. 1701
Died
1763 (aged 62)
Nationality
English/British
Known for
Medical hoax
Mary Toft (née Denyer; c. 1701–1763), also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits.
In 1726, Toft became pregnant, but following her reported fascination with the sighting of a rabbit, she miscarried. Her claim to have given birth to various animal parts prompted the arrival of John Howard, a local surgeon, who investigated the matter. He delivered several pieces of animal flesh and duly notified other prominent physicians, which brought the case to the attention of Nathaniel St. André, surgeon to the Royal Household of King George I.
St. André concluded that Toft's case was genuine but the king also sent surgeon Cyriacus Ahlers, who remained skeptical. By then quite famous, Toft was brought to London where she was studied in detail; under intense scrutiny and producing no more rabbits she confessed to the hoax, and was subsequently imprisoned as a fraud.
The resultant public mockery created panic within the medical profession and ruined the careers of several prominent surgeons. The affair was satirised on many occasions, not least by the pictorial satirist and social critic William Hogarth, who was notably critical of the medical profession's gullibility. Toft was eventually released without charge and returned home.
MaryToft (née Denyer; c. 1701–1763), also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy...
artist Amelia Biewald resurrected the story of MaryToft into the gallery with The Curious Case of MaryToft in 2020. Pisanello: Vision of St. Eustace, 1435...
Look up toft or Domain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Toft may refer to: Albert Toft (1862–1949), English sculptor Alfonso Toft (1866–1964), English...
physician and man-midwife, now remembered for his involvement in the MaryToft hoax. The second son of Thomas Manningham, he was born at Eversley, Hampshire...
and BuzzFeed. Palmer's third book, MaryToft; or, The Rabbit Queene, was a work of historical fiction about MaryToft, an eighteenth-century Englishwoman...
their children resemble those animals. He was involved in the case of MaryToft, who appeared to vindicate his theory by giving birth to rabbits, although...
to mysterious UV rays from Saturn, claimed to be "a miracle" by NASA. MaryToft, an English woman who convinced doctors that she gave birth to rabbits...
anatomist Nathaniel St André claimed to have delivered rabbits from MaryToft, a woman who lived at No. 27 Leicester Square. The event was widely reported...
sodomised young men in his congregation. Satire was a popular pastime—the MaryToft affair of 1726, concerning a woman who fooled some of the medical establishment...
leave town immediately. This stunt may have been inspired by the story of MaryToft. 212 Hey Dad, Nice Rack October 31, 1935 St. Louis, Missouri Billy Tipton...
Albert Toft (3 June 1862 – 18 December 1949) was a British sculptor. Toft's career was dominated by public commemorative commissions in bronze, mostly...
Colony of Georgia – was born in Godalming and lived at Westbrook Place MaryToft (c. 1703–1763) convinced medical professionals that she had given birth...
record fee to the Ottoman Sultan to guarantee his appointment. November – MaryToft allegedly gives birth to 16 rabbits in England; the story is later revealed...
record fee to the Ottoman Sultan to guarantee his appointment. November – MaryToft allegedly gives birth to 16 rabbits in England; the story is later revealed...
mile north of West Tofts, with its Church of St Mary, all deserted and demolished villages. None of these settlements (except West Tofts) are shown on modern...
West Tofts is a deserted medieval village in the civil parish of Lynford, within the Breckland district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is within...
history's great hoaxes, pranks, and scams, including such notable put-ons as MaryToft, the "Bunny Mommy", who convinced the court of England that she had given...
characteristics as those animals. Maubray was one of the experts in the case of MaryToft, who had allegedly given birth to rabbits, which he saw as proof of his...
in Consultation (1726) - a satire on the "learned" doctors taken in by MaryToft, a subject revisited in Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism [106]...
Martin-in-the-Fields church in London as designed by James Gibbs. October–December – MaryToft from Godalming causes a sensation by purporting to give birth to rabbits...
Toft Monks Priory was a priory at Toft Monks, Beccles, Norfolk, England. It included St Margarets, Toft Monks and St Mary, Haddiscoe Revenues from the...
Turn'd Ferret, published anonymously; satirical ballad on the claim of MaryToft that she had given birth to rabbits; published this year, although the...
Toft Monks is a village and parish in Norfolk, England. It is located on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk about eleven miles southwest of Great Yarmouth...
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