The invention of anaesthetic inhalation, or, 'Discovery of anaesthesia' / by William J. Morton.

  • Morton, William J. (William James), 1846-1920.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The invention of anaesthetic inhalation, or, 'Discovery of anaesthesia' / by William J. Morton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Absurdities connected with the question of priority. So much for the Long claim, old and new. It is the oft- repeated story of “ priority—the story of the host of after- claimants who first dabbled in an invention, not who first made it; and, in this instance, it has not even the advantage of being recorded priority. The common consent of the world has already decided this question as regards other great inven- tions and discoveries. Who, for instance, first discovered and invented vaccination ? The young countrywoman of Sudbury, who said of small-pox: “ I can not take that disease, for I have had cow-pox ” ; the Duchess of Cleveland, who said that she had no fear about her beauty, for she had had a disorder which would prevent her from ever catching the small-pox; * Benjamin Jesty, “ noted for having been the first person known that introduced the cow-pox by inoculation, and who made the experiment from the cow on his wife and two sons” f —and this twenty-two years before Jenner gave the world vac- cination—or Jenner? The countrywoman, the Duchess, and Jesty were familiar with the isolated fact; but Jenner had the genius and the perseverance to demonstrate that the fact held good, not only once, but always—that the practice was safe, useful, and applicable to the necessities of humankind. And he both proved this, and found followers: and the world properly honors Jenner. Jenner made vaccination what it is. Morton made anaesthetic inhalation by ether what it is. Both generalized from single instances and popularized their inven- tions. Consecutive anaesthesias followed Morton’s efforts, just as consecutive vaccination followed Jenner’s. Again, Hull, Arnal, the Earl of Stanhope, and Franklin experimented with a view of propelling boats by steam. Ful- ton demonstrated (what they failed to do) that the process was practicable. And, when aerial navigation becomes a fixed fact, who shall we say invented it—a King, a Wise, or what not aeronaut; the Montgolfier brothers, who sent up the first balloon ; some one else who, before their time, will be al- leged to have flown a paper balloon ; or, indeed, Icarus himself * Cited from Professor Henry J. Bigelow. f Cited from Thomas P. Wood, M. D.: “North Caroh'na Medical Journal,” October, 1879.