August 25, 1850

Nineteenth century science saw research carried out in many directions. One of the questions was the possibility of living without a stomach;that is, the way the stomach interacted with other systems. Charles Richet (August 25, 1850 to December 4, 1935) directed an investigation into this question. Researchers were unable to remove a dog's stomach, but "They found a cat to be suitable to their objective and, on 4 November 1894, managed a successful removal of a cat's stomach."

The researchers directed to experiment with a cat, discovered that "Agastre" (so they named the cat) at first did eat, but soon had to be tube-fed. The animal lived for six months without a stomach. Then, like now, many found vivisection offensive. In fact, experiments like this enabled scientists to better understand the the effects of physiology on psychology.

All this is detailed in a biography of Richet:

Charles Richet and the Origins of Physiological Psychology by Robert Guskind (1993). Herein we also learn about Richet's involvement in psychical research, and his sponsorship of eugenics.

According to the Google blurb for this book, Richet

.. is best known for his work on the body's immune reactions to foreign substances for which he won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1913. Richet was also a poet, playwright, historian, bibliographer, political activist, classical scholar, and pioneer in aircraft design.