In 1937 in Hartford, Connecticut, the Horace Wells Club presented a pew to Trinity College Chapel to memorialize the dentist who popularized the anesthetic use of nitrous oxide, Dr. Horace Wells. A profile bust of Wells (right) is carved between pairs of dental silhouettes, “Horace” and “Wells” beneath and his years of life above, from “1815” to “1848.” Wells’ portrait faces a carved figure (middle) of Saint Apollonia, the martyred patron saint of dentistry. A carving of Asklepios (Aesculapius), the ancient Greek god of medicine, tops (left) this end of the pew. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc.)
In 1937 in Hartford, Connecticut, the Horace Wells Club presented a pew to Trinity College Chapel to memorialize the dentist who popularized the anesthetic use of nitrous oxide, Dr. Horace Wells. A profile bust of Wells (right) is carved between pairs of dental silhouettes, “Horace” and “Wells” beneath and his years of life above, from “1815” to “1848.” Wells’ portrait faces a carved figure (middle) of Saint Apollonia, the martyred patron saint of dentistry. A carving of Asklepios (Aesculapius), the ancient Greek god of medicine, tops (left) this end of the pew. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc.)
George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator, ASA’s Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.
