Samuel Colt was born. In the 1830s, Colt, calling himself “Professor Coult” or “Doctor Coult,” toured the United States giving nitrous oxide demonstrations to raise money to put his revolver prototype into production. Colt died on January 10, 1862.
The great English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge of “The Ancient Mariner” fame contributed to anesthesia as well. In 1799, Coleridge was one of several notable participants in the first human nitrous oxide experiments in Bristol conducted by Dr. Thomas Beddoes and his research assistant Humphry Davy. Many of these participants, including Coleridge, provided beautiful descriptions of their experiences for Davy’s massive book on nitrous oxide, which was published in 1800.
William T.G. Morton began using sulphuric ether as an anesthetic in his Boston dental practice. The agent was possibly suggested to him by Dr. Charles A. Jackson, which again is a matter of much controversy and discussion.
William T.G....