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William
T.G. Morton performed the first successful public demonstration of
ether anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16,
1846.
But did he “discover” the idea?
Dr. Charles T. Jackson (a native of Plymouth) said not.
Several days after Morton’s demonstration, Jackson claimed
that the discovery was actually his.
Jackson said he had been experimenting with ether for several
years and was the first to discover that inhaling ether could deaden
the pain of surgery. He remembered educating a totally ignorant Morton, not only
on the properties of ether but on its specific application as an
anesthetic, during a visit that Morton had paid to his laboratory.
Morton’s recollection of that visit differed dramatically. Morton said he had independently thought of using ether as a
surgical anesthetic and had been conducting secret experiments,
visiting Jackson’s laboratory only to procure a device for his
inhaler prototype. Morton
claimed he never revealed the true nature of his experiments to
Jackson, and that Jackson offered him only very general information
on the properties of ether.
The dispute escalated into intrigue, deceit and manipulation.
Both the claimants were uncompromising, difficult and
determined men. Each
took their case to the court of public opinion.
The stakes were high - money, prestige and personal honor.
Who were these claimants?
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