Para minha surpresa, eu li que o Homem de Lata em O Mágico de Oz é um cyborg. De Wikipedia :
In the books, the origins of the character are rather gruesome. Originally an ordinary man by the name of Nick Chopper (the name first appearing in The Marvelous Land of Oz), the Tin Woodman used to make his living chopping down trees in the forests of Oz, as his father had before him. The Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe to prevent him from marrying the girl that he loved. The enchanted axe chopped off his limbs, one by one. Each time he lost a limb, Nick Chopper replaced it with a prosthetic limb made of tin. Finally, nothing was left of him but tin. However, Ku-Klip, the tinsmith who helped him, neglected to replace his heart. Once Nick Chopper was made entirely of tin, he was no longer able to love the girl he had fallen for.
Este é o primeiro exemplo de um ciborgue fictício?
Se estivermos considerando próteses funcionais, então elas voltam à antes da história escrita, notável Nuada Argetlam (literalmente, "Braço de Prata"), um lendário rei irlandês. Como todos os governantes tinham que ser completos e totalmente funcionais, ele corre o risco de perder seu trono ao perder um braço, mas tem um de prata feito para substituí-lo. link
A referência mais antiga cyborg que encontrei foi do conto de 1839 " O homem que foi usado " por Edgar Allen Poe . O cyborg em questão é Brevet Brigadeiro-General John A. B. C. Smith. Do resumo da Wikipedia :
When [the narrator] visits the General's home, he sees nothing but a strange bundle of items on the floor. The bundle, however, begins to speak. It is the General himself, and his servant begins to "assemble" him, piece by piece. Limbs are screwed on, a wig, glass eye, and false teeth, and a tongue, until the man himself stands "whole." The General has lost more than battles, it seems: he was captured and severely mutilated by Native American warriors and now much of his body is composed of prostheses, which must be put in or on every morning and without which he cannot appear in public.
Algumas décadas mais tarde, o pequeno conto de 1879 "O Homem Mais Sagrado do Mundo"
Não tenho certeza se eles se encaixam na sua definição de ciborgue, mas existem coisas como Golem do hebraico Escritos de Kaballah (em algum momento BC) e o Homúnculo de Zósimos de Panopolis (~ 300 dC). Então há Rei Mu de Zhou e seu autômato (1023-957 aC). Aristóteles em sua Política especulou sobre quais direitos deveriam ser concedidos e extraiu essa idéia de mitos contemporâneos sobre Dédalo e Hefesto (322 aC).