Nathanael St. André

Born around 1680 and dying in March 1776, Nathanael (or Nathaniel) St. André was a Swiss physician who built his career in England. He served as a royal surgeon and became a visible figure in London medical life during the early 18th century.

He is best known for his role in the 1726 Mary Toft hoax, in which a woman falsely claimed to give birth to rabbits. St. André believed the case was genuine and defended it publicly, but when the fraud was exposed, his reputation suffered badly and he became the subject of satire.

That dramatic episode has kept his name alive far more than his medical writing or practice. Today he is usually remembered as a cautionary historical figure from a period when medicine was still closely entangled with rumor, spectacle, and public debate.