Caption:
Baron Meonchhausen's flight on a cannonball, 1872. Baron Munchausen is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in 1785. The character is loosely based on a real baron, Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Meonchhausen, who told outrageous tall tales based on his military career. The condition of Munchausen syndrome derives its name from the fictional character.