Other monuments to inhalation anesthesia.

THE history of anesthesiology is one commemorated by several monuments. The most recognized memorial is the Ether Monument, erected in the Boston Public Garden in 1868. While many anesthesiologists are familiar with this sculpture, there are other less-known memorials related to the introduction of surgical inhalation anesthesia and to the claimants to its discovery. This article discusses some of these other monuments and presents them in the context of the events that led to their erection. Through understanding both the monuments’ characteristics and their historical contexts, anesthesiologists can better appreciate both the early history of their profession and the impact that the proponents of the claimants had on the way this history is recorded. Monuments related to the discovery of inhalation anesthesia were created in honor of the four most recognized claimants to this discovery: William T. G. Morton, M.D. (1819–1868), Horace Wells (1815–1848), Charles T. Jackson, M.D. (1805–1880; Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts), and Crawford Long, M.D. (1815–1878). Each monument avouches that the distinction for the discovery of surgical inhalation anesthesia belongs to the person it represents. Although supporters of these claims constructed these monuments after the individual’s death, all four persons also made efforts to substantiate their assertions. These conflicting attempts for recognition (by both the claimants and their patrons) led to a vicious debate that became known as the Ether Controversy. The root of this conflict dates back to October 16, 1846, when, at the Massachusetts General Hospital, William T. G. Morton publicly administered an anesthetic using a compound that he called “Letheon.” In all, it took three trials with this anesthetic—in the last of which Morton had to reveal to the surgeons the active ingredient (sulfuric ether) in his preparation before they would agree to his administering of it—before the hospital affirmed it was safe to use in surgical procedures. Subsequently, Morton and Jackson jointly patented this process of administering “such vapors (particularly those of Sulfuric Ether)” to cause insensibility to pain during surgical procedures. Originally, it was understood that Jackson was the actual discoverer of the process and Morton was the dispenser of this knowledge—or as has been stated, “Jackson was the head, and W.T.G. Morton was the hand.” The first real outcries that ignited the Ether Controversy began when Henry Jacob Bigelow, M.D. (1818–1890; Professor Emeritus, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School), published his account of the trials that occurred at Massachusetts General Hospital. The article proclaimed that Jackson and Morton had discovered a way to render patients insensible to pain. When Wells, a Hartford dentist, as well as Morton’s former teacher and partner, read this article and saw that Morton and Jackson were taking credit for the discovery that insensibility to pain could be achieved through the inhalation of gases, he wrote a rebuttal. Wells explained that he had discovered this property 2 yr earlier. Pinckney Webster Ellsworth, a prominent Hartford surgeon, also wrote an article in support of Wells’ assertion that appeared in the Boston Medical Surgical Journal—so started the Ether Controversy. What finally led to the debate between Jackson and Morton was Morton’s cessation of stating that Jackson had been the discoverer of sulfuric ether’s anesthetic properties and his subsequently expressing that the discovery of surgical inhalation anesthesia was his own. Although not involved in the early portions of the Ether Controversy, in 1849 Crawford Long, M.D., a physician from Georgia, reported that he had first administered sulfuric ether during a surgical procedure on March 30, 1842, before Morton and Wells. Long may not have been as much involved in the Ether Controversy as the other claimants, but he must be considered a part of this historical conflict. Despite the Ether Controversy, two decades after Morton’s demonstration, The Ether Monument was erected in Boston’s Public Garden, commemorating the first public ether anesthetic at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Unlike other monuments in the Public Garden, such as the statues of George Washington and Edward Everett Hale, which commemorate these citizens for their achievements, the Ether Monument does not give specific claim to an individual. Rather, it focuses on the event, leaving Morton’s name conspicuously absent. The event that occurred on October 16, 1846, was one that brought fame and notoriety to both Boston and the Massachusetts General Hospital. Omitting Morton’s name could be an attempt to place the focus on the Massachusetts General Hospital or the larger City of Boston. On the other hand, the reason for this omission * Professor of Anesthesiology, † Research Assistant.