A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a Charlatan is The Pardoner of "The Canterbury Tales" who tricks sinners into buying fake religious relics. Synonyms for charlatan include shyster, quack, or faker. Quack is a reference to quackery or the practice of dubious medicine, including the sale of snake oil, or a person who does not have medical training who purports to provide medical services.
The word comes from French charlatan, a seller of medicines who might advertise his presence with music and an outdoor stage show. The best known of the Parisian charlatans was Tabarin, whose skits and farces were influenced by commedia dell'arte inspired Molière. The word can also be traced to Spanish charlatán, an indiscreetly talkative person, a chatterbox. Ultimately, etymologists trace charlatan from either the Italian ciarlare,[1] to chatter or prattle; or from Cerretano, a resident of Cerreto, a village in Umbria, known for its quacks.[2]
A distinction is drawn between the charlatan and other kinds of confidence tricksters. The charlatan is usually a salesperson of a certain service or product, who has no personal relationship with his "marks" (customers or clients), and avoids elaborate hoaxes or roleplaying con-games. Rather, the person called a charlatan is being accused of resorting to quackery, pseudoscience, or other knowingly employed bogus means of impressing people in order to swindle victims by selling them worthless nostrums and similar goods or services that will not deliver on the promises made for them. One example of a charlatan is a 19th-century medicine show operator, who has long since left town by the time the people who bought his "snake oil" or similarly named "cure-all" tonic realize that it was a scam. A misdirection by a charlatan is a confuddle, a dropper is a leader of a group of conmen, and hangmen are conmen that present false checks. A gaff means to trick or con and a mugu is a victim of a rigged game.
In reported spiritual communications, a charlatan is a person who fakes evidence that a spirit is "making contact" with the medium and seekers. Notable people who have successfully debunked the claims of purported supernatural mediums include magician/scientific skeptic James Randi, Brazilian writer Monteiro Lobato and magician Harry Houdini.
John R. Brinkley, the "goat-gland doctor" who implanted goat glands as a means of curing male impotence, helped pioneer both American and Mexican radio broadcasting, and twice ran unsuccessfully for governor of Kansas.
Alfredo Bowman, who claimed to cure all disease with herbs and a unique vegan, alkaline diet.
Bernard Madoff, an American stockbroker who ran the world's largest Ponzi scheme, defrauding investors out of $18 billion.[6]
Elisha Perkins, the inventor of his own quack therapy that utilized "tractors".[7]
John Henry Pinkard, Roanoke businessman and purveyor of quack medicines.
Charles Ponzi, for whom the "Ponzi scheme" is named, a scam that relies on a "pyramid" of "investors" who contribute money to a fraudulent programme, typically where monies from later investors are used to pay unusually high returns to earlier investors, thus allowing and promoting the growth of the scheme.
Gert Postel, a German fraud who feigned experience in the field of psychiatry and became a senior physician, despite having no training.
Grigori Rasputin, a self-proclaimed holy man and healer who gained considerable influence on the family of Tsar Nicholas II and was involved in the political turmoil on the brink of the Russian Revolution.
^Nash, Jay Robert (2004). The Great Pictorial History of World Crime, Volume 2. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 364. ISBN1-928831-20-6. "Gustavus Katterfelto launched a successful medical swindle. Passing himself off as a worldly philosopher and scientist, Katterfelto swindled Londoners with his sleight of hand tricks and medicine show for nearly three years. In 1872, he claimed to have invented the Solar Microscope, which he used to detect a deadly plague similar to the Black Death."
^Partnoy, Frank (2010). The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals. PublicAffairs. ISBN978-1586488123.
^Creswell, Julie; Thomas, Landon Jr. (January 24, 2009). "The Talented Mr. Madoff". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
Brock, Pope. (2009). Charlatan: The Fraudulent Life of John Brinkley. Phoenix. ISBN978-0753825716
Humbertclaude, Éric. Récréations de Hultazob Paris: L'Harmattan 2010, ISBN978-2-296-12546-9 (sur Melech August Hultazob, médecin-charlatan des Lumières Allemandes assassiné en 1743)
Riordan, Timothy B. (2009). Prince of Quacks: The Notorious Life of Dr. Francis Tumblety, Charlatan and Jack the Ripper Suspect. McFarland. ISBN978-0786444335
Porter, Roy. (2003). Quacks: Fakers and Charlatans in Medicine. NPI Media Group. ISBN978-0752425900
Stratmann, Linda. (2010). Fraudsters and Charlatans: A Peek at some of History's Greatest Rogues. The History Press. ISBN978-0752457109
External links
The dictionary definition of charlatan at Wiktionary
March 25, 2023
charlatan, other, uses, disambiguation, swindler, redirects, here, other, uses, swindler, disambiguation, charlatan, also, called, swindler, mountebank, person, practicing, quackery, similar, confidence, trick, order, obtain, money, power, fame, other, advanta. For other uses see Charlatan disambiguation Swindler redirects here For other uses see Swindler disambiguation A charlatan also called a swindler or mountebank is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money power fame or other advantages through pretense or deception One example of a Charlatan is The Pardoner of The Canterbury Tales who tricks sinners into buying fake religious relics Synonyms for charlatan include shyster quack or faker Quack is a reference to quackery or the practice of dubious medicine including the sale of snake oil or a person who does not have medical training who purports to provide medical services Pietro Longhi The Charlatan 1757 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Usage 3 Infamous individuals 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksEtymology EditThe word comes from French charlatan a seller of medicines who might advertise his presence with music and an outdoor stage show The best known of the Parisian charlatans was Tabarin whose skits and farces were influenced by commedia dell arte inspired Moliere The word can also be traced to Spanish charlatan an indiscreetly talkative person a chatterbox Ultimately etymologists trace charlatan from either the Italian ciarlare 1 to chatter or prattle or from Cerretano a resident of Cerreto a village in Umbria known for its quacks 2 Usage Edit The Pardoner from the Ellesmere Chaucer A distinction is drawn between the charlatan and other kinds of confidence tricksters The charlatan is usually a salesperson of a certain service or product who has no personal relationship with his marks customers or clients and avoids elaborate hoaxes or roleplaying con games Rather the person called a charlatan is being accused of resorting to quackery pseudoscience or other knowingly employed bogus means of impressing people in order to swindle victims by selling them worthless nostrums and similar goods or services that will not deliver on the promises made for them One example of a charlatan is a 19th century medicine show operator who has long since left town by the time the people who bought his snake oil or similarly named cure all tonic realize that it was a scam A misdirection by a charlatan is a confuddle a dropper is a leader of a group of conmen and hangmen are conmen that present false checks A gaff means to trick or con and a mugu is a victim of a rigged game In reported spiritual communications a charlatan is a person who fakes evidence that a spirit is making contact with the medium and seekers Notable people who have successfully debunked the claims of purported supernatural mediums include magician scientific skeptic James Randi Brazilian writer Monteiro Lobato and magician Harry Houdini Infamous individuals EditAlbert Abrams the advocate of radionics and other similar electrical quackery who was active in the early twentieth century 3 John R Brinkley the goat gland doctor who implanted goat glands as a means of curing male impotence helped pioneer both American and Mexican radio broadcasting and twice ran unsuccessfully for governor of Kansas Alfredo Bowman who claimed to cure all disease with herbs and a unique vegan alkaline diet Alessandro Cagliostro real name Giuseppe Balsamo who claimed to be a count Billie Sol Estes a famous Texas conman Gustavus Katterfelto a Prussian conjurer who used a solar microscope which he claimed could detect disease 4 Ivar Kreuger the Swedish Match King who ran a worldwide Ponzi scheme in the 1920s 5 Bernard Madoff an American stockbroker who ran the world s largest Ponzi scheme defrauding investors out of 18 billion 6 Elisha Perkins the inventor of his own quack therapy that utilized tractors 7 John Henry Pinkard Roanoke businessman and purveyor of quack medicines Charles Ponzi for whom the Ponzi scheme is named a scam that relies on a pyramid of investors who contribute money to a fraudulent programme typically where monies from later investors are used to pay unusually high returns to earlier investors thus allowing and promoting the growth of the scheme Gert Postel a German fraud who feigned experience in the field of psychiatry and became a senior physician despite having no training Grigori Rasputin a self proclaimed holy man and healer who gained considerable influence on the family of Tsar Nicholas II and was involved in the political turmoil on the brink of the Russian Revolution See also EditCerreto di Spoleto Confidence trick Fraud Impostor Poseur Pseudoscience QuackeryReferences Edit Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Charlatan Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 5 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 891 Charlatan Dictionary com Radionics Skeptics Dictionary Nash Jay Robert 2004 The Great Pictorial History of World Crime Volume 2 Rowman amp Littlefield p 364 ISBN 1 928831 20 6 Gustavus Katterfelto launched a successful medical swindle Passing himself off as a worldly philosopher and scientist Katterfelto swindled Londoners with his sleight of hand tricks and medicine show for nearly three years In 1872 he claimed to have invented the Solar Microscope which he used to detect a deadly plague similar to the Black Death Partnoy Frank 2010 The Match King Ivar Kreuger The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals PublicAffairs ISBN 978 1586488123 Creswell Julie Thomas Landon Jr January 24 2009 The Talented Mr Madoff The New York Times New York Retrieved June 27 2020 Quen Jacques M 1963 Elisha Perkins Physician Nostrum Vendor or Charlatan Bulletin of the History of Medicine 37 37 159 166 PMID 13972718 Further reading EditBrock Pope 2009 Charlatan The Fraudulent Life of John Brinkley Phoenix ISBN 978 0753825716 Humbertclaude Eric Recreations de Hultazob Paris L Harmattan 2010 ISBN 978 2 296 12546 9 sur Melech August Hultazob medecin charlatan des Lumieres Allemandes assassine en 1743 Riordan Timothy B 2009 Prince of Quacks The Notorious Life of Dr Francis Tumblety Charlatan and Jack the Ripper Suspect McFarland ISBN 978 0786444335 Porter Roy 2003 Quacks Fakers and Charlatans in Medicine NPI Media Group ISBN 978 0752425900 Stratmann Linda 2010 Fraudsters and Charlatans A Peek at some of History s Greatest Rogues The History Press ISBN 978 0752457109External links Edit The dictionary definition of charlatan at Wiktionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charlatan amp oldid 1143773355, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
