Mary Toft claims to give birth to rabbits

JUN 1726

Mary Toft, a servant from Godalming, Surrey, convinced surgeons and eventually figures at the royal court that she was giving birth to rabbits. The claims began after an episode in August 1726 and drew national attention from late October. On 4 December evidence emerged that rabbits had been bought and smuggled into her chamber; she confessed on 7 December, and she and the surgeon John Howard appeared before the bench on 7 January 1727.