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Jackson’s
adversary was William T. G. Morton, a 27-year-old dentist with a
history of underhanded business dealings and the briefest of medical
educations. Morton’s
tutor, Boston dentist Horace Wells, had attempted a public
demonstration of the anesthetic effects of inhaled nitrous oxide, or
“laughing gas.” (Both ether and nitrous oxide had enjoyed a
passing fame in the early 1800s, being inhaled recreationally by
daring young folks as mood-altering drugs.)
Wells' experiment was a failure.
Morton, according to his own account, made the mental leap
from Wells’ failed experiment to using ether as an inhalation
anesthesia and began his own experiments.
Morton successfully administered ether as an anesthetic
during an actual dental procedure - and he did so in the presence of
an invited newspaper reporter (although the exact nature of the
anesthesia used remained a secret). Morton also consulted with a
patent attorney.
Morton then made his successful public demonstration of his
anesthesia at Mass General, following up with a second demonstration
the next morning.
Several days later, Charles Jackson claimed that the
invention was his and demanded from Morton a fee of $500 against 10%
of the revenues. In
response, Morton and his patent attorney talked Jackson into joining
Morton’s patent application. (Morton was to receive 65% of the
revenues, the attorney 25% and Jackson 10%.)
And the nature of Morton’s
anesthetic - ether - became publicly known.
The controversy became more and more public. Impassioned
articles were written on behalf of both claimants.
|
Click
HERE for the words of a
Jackson supporter.
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Click
HERE for the words of a Morton
supporter.
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Massachusetts General Hospital issued a report on the controversy,
declaring that Morton deserved credit for the discovery - with the
acknowledgment that, without Jackson’s scientific advice, Morton
would probably not have been able to make his discovery.
The French Academy of Sciences reached a similar verdict in
1850.
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The Academy
specified that both Jackson and Morton would share in the honor,
each receiving a gold medal and an equal cash prize of 2,500 francs; the award to
Jackson “for his observations and experiments on the anaesthetical
effects produced by the inhalation of ether” and the award to
Morton “for having introduced this method in the practice of
surgery.”
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The medal awarded by the French Academy of
Sciences to both Charles Jackson and William Morton.
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Neither
man was pleased. The
positions of both continued to harden.
| By the time Jackson published A Manual of Etherization in 1861, he was claiming that he not
only educated Morton on the anesthetic properties of ether but had
specifically employed Morton (whom he characterized as “a nominal
medical pupil of mine”) to make his famous demonstration at
Massachusetts General Hospital on his, Jackson’s, behalf.
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The signature of Charles T.
Jackson
in Pilgrim Hall Museum's copy of
A Manual of Etherization. |
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