The 18th-Century Baron Who Lent His Name to Munchausen Syndrome

In 1951, London physician Richard Asher wrote a journal article about “a common syndrome which most doctors have seen, but about which little has been written.” He described a pattern of seemingly sick patients with dramatic but plausible medical histories, who made countless visits to doctors and hospitals, quarreled with medical professionals, and discharged themselves against advice. In short, these…