BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

OF

DR. WILLIAM T. G. MORTON.

[Reprint from Physicians and Surgeons of America.]

WILLIAM THOMAS GREEN MORTON.

MORTON, William Thomas Green, dis-coverer of anaethesia, was born in Charlton, Mass.,August 9, 1819; died in New York city, July 15,1868. He was the son of James and Rebecca(Needham) Morton; grandson of Thomas Mor-ton, a Revolutionary soldier, born in 1759; great-grandson of Robert Morton, who immigrated fromScotland and settled in Mendon, near Charlton,Mass.; he acquired by purchase for three shiploadsof goods, seven thousand acres of land in the east-ern part of New' Jersey, where he had been inducedto move, and in a portion of that property is nowsituated the city of Elizabethtown. The originalgrant has never been sold or in any way cancelled,and with the original title deed remains in the pos-session of the Morton family.

William Thomas Green Morton passed his youthin alternate school and farm work, until, at the ageof thirteen, he entered the academy at Oxford, be-coming a member of the family of Dr. Pierce. Healso attended the academies at Northfield and Lei-cester, Mass. Owing to his father’s financial em-barrassment, he was obliged to leave school at theage of seventeen, and secured a position in a largepublishing house in Boston. In August, 1840, heentered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery,then just established under the auspices of theAmerican Society of Dental Surgeons, in connec-tion with the Washington University of Medicineof Baltimore, Md. In 1842, and alter graduatingin dentistry, he entered upon the practice of hisprofession in Boston, Mass. March 20, 1844, heentered his name as a student of medicine withDr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston ; in November,1844, he matriculated in the Medical School ofHarvard University, attending all the lectures inregular course; and in 1852, received the honorarydegree of M. D., from the Washington Universityof Medicine, afterward merged in the College ofPhysicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Md.

Meanwhile Dr. Morton was endeavoring to dis-cover some means of deadening pain in connection

with his dental operations, and on September 30,1846, at his office in Boston, administered sul-phuric ether to one Eben Frost and extracted atooth without pain to the patient. Securing per-mission from Dr. John C. Warren, senior surgeonof the Massachusetts General Hospital, on Octo-ber 16, 1846, he administered ether to a patient atthat hospital, and Dr. Warren performed a severesurgical operation, the patient remaining uncon-scious during the time. Dr. Morton at that timewas but twenty-seven years of age and still a stu-dent in the Medical School of Harvard University.The discovery being announced, he was compelledto discontinue his studies in order to devote hisentire time to his work. After the public demon-stration of a painless capital operation at the Mas-sachusetts General Hospital, October 16, 1846, itwas necessary that the process should receive asuitable name. A meeting was held at the houseof Dr. A. A. Gould, at which were present Dr.Henry J. Bigelow, Dr. O. W. HolW\es, and Dr.Morton, and Dr. Gould read aloud a listoFha'frreswhich he had prepared. On hearing the word“ Letheon,” Dr. Morton exclaimed, “That is thename the discovery shall be christened.' 1 Dr. Gouldand the others also favored this name, derivedfrom the mythological river Lethe. But after asubsequent consultation with Dr. Holmes and aconsideration of the terms suggested by him inthe following letter, Dr Morton adopted theterms anaesthesia, anaesthetics, and etherization,the terms now in common use. Following are twoletters from Dr. Holmes bearing upon this subject;

Boston, November 21, 1846.My Dear Sir —Everybodywants to have a hand in a

great discovery. All I will do is to give you a hint ortwo, as to names, or the name, to be applied to the stateproduced and the agent.

The state should, I think, be called “anaesthesia.”This signifies insensibility, more particularly (as usedby Linnaeus and Cullen) to objects of touch (See“Good-Nosology,” p. 259.) The adjective will be“ anaesthetic.”

Thus we might say the state of anaesthesia, or theanaesthetic state. The means employed would beproperly called the anti-aesthetic agent. Perhaps itmight be allowable to say anaesthetic agent, but thisadmits of question.

The words antineuric, aneuric, neuro leptic, neuro-lepsia, neuro etasis, etc., seem too anatomical; whereasthe change is a physiological one. I throw them out forconsideration.

I would have a name pretty soon, and consult someaccomplished scholar, such as President Everett or Dr.Pigelow, Senior, before fixingupon the terms, which willbe repeated by the tongues ofevery civilized race ofman-kind.

You could mention these words which I suggest fortheir consideration ; but there may be others more ap-propriate and agreeable.

Yours respectfully,O. \V. Holmes.

Dr. Morton.Boston, April 2, 1893.

My Dear Sir:—Few persons have or had better rea-son than myself to assert the claim of Dr. Morton tothe introduction of artificial anaesthesia into surgicalpractice. The discovery was formally introduced tothe scientific world in a paper read before the Ameri-can Academy of Arts and Sciences by Dr. Henry J.Bigelow, one of the first, if not the first, of Americansurgeons.

On the evening before the reading of the paper con-taining the announcement of the discovery, Dr. Bigelowcalled at my office to recite this paper to me. He pref-aced it with a few words which could never be forgotten.

He told me that a great discovery had been made,and its genuineness demonstrated at the MassachusettsGeneral Hospital, of which he was one of the surgeons.This was the production of insensibility to pain duringsurgical operations, by the inhalation of a certain vapor(the same afterward shown to be that ofsulphuric ether).In a very short time, he said, this discovery will be alloverEurope. He had taken a great interest in the allegeddiscovery, had been present at the first capital operationperformed under its influence, and was from the first theadvisor and supporter of Dr. W. T. G. Morton, whohad induced the surgeons of the hospital to make trialof the means by which he proposed to work this newmiracle. The discovery went all over the world like aconflagration.

The only question was whether Morton got advice

from Dr. Charles T. Jackson, the chemist, which en-titled that gentleman to a share, greater or less, in themerit of the discovery.

Later it was questioned whether he did not owe hisfirst hint to Dr. Horace Wells, of Hartford, which neednot be disputed. Both these gentlemen deserve “ hon-orable mention ” in connection with the discovery, butI have never a moment hesitated in awarding the essen-tial credit of the great achievement to Dr. Morton.

This priceless gift to humanity went forth from theoperating theatre of the Massachusetts General Hospi-tal and the man to whom the world owes it is Dr.William Thomas Green Morton.

Experiments have been made with other substancesbesides sulphuric ether, for the production of anaesthe-sia. Among them, by far the most important, is chloro-form, the use of which was introduced by Sir James Y.Simpson. For this and for the employment of anaes-thetics in midwifery he should have all due credit, buthis attempt to appropriate the glory of making the greatand immortal discovery, as revealed in his contributionto the Eighth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,is unworthy of a man of his highly respectable posi-tion. In the Ninth edition of the same work his article,“ Chloroform,” is omitted and a fair enough account ofthe discovery is given under the title “Anaesthesia.”

Yours very truly,’

O. W. Holmes.

In November, 1846, Dr. Morton took out apatent for his discovery, in the name of “ Leth-eon.” He offered free rights to all charitableinstitutions throughout the country, but the gov-ernment appropriated the discovery without remu-neration. In taking out this patent Dr. Mortonwas badly advised and regretted it. His misfor-tunes have amply atoned to a generous professionfor this step. He applied to congress for relief in1846 and again in 1849, endorsed by the action ofthe trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital,who acknowledged him in 1848 to be the discov-erer of the power and safety of ether in producinganaesthesia. In 1852, a bill, appropriating SIOO,-000 as a national testimonial for his discovery, wasintroduced in congress, with the condition that hesurrender his patent to the United States govern-

ment, but it failed, and he was again unsuccessfulin securing aid in 1853 and in 1854. Testimonialsin his behalf were signed by prominent members ofthe profession in Boston in 1856, in New York in1858, and in Philadelphia in iB6O.

Dr. Morton received from the French Academyof Sciences a divided Montyon prize, 2,500 francs;the “Cross of the Order of Wasa, Sweden and Nor-way; 11 “The Cross of the Order of St. Vladimir,Russia;” and a silver box containing one thousanddollars from the trustees of the Massachusetts Gen-eral Hospital “in honor of the ether discovery ofSeptember 30, 1846.”

Dr. Morton spent the last years of his life inagricultural pursuits in Wellesley, Mass., wherehe also raised and imported fine cattle. He diedfinancially poor. Over his grave in Mount Au-burn cemetery, Boston, is a monument “erectedby citizens of Boston, 11 with the following inscrip-tion, written by the late Dr. Jacob Bigelow, ofBoston: “William T. G. Morton, inventor andrevealer of Anaesthetic Inhalation. By whompain in surgery was averted and annulled. Be-fore whom, in all time, surgery was agony. Sincewhom science has control of pain.” A monumentin the Public Garden in Boston is erected “Tocommemorate the discovery that the inhalation ofether causes insensibility to pain. First proved tothe world at the Massachusetts General Hospital,in Boston, October, 1846,” the date of Dr. Mor-ton's successful demonstration at the hospital. Dr.Morton's name is enrolled upon the base of thedome in the new chamber of the house of repre-sentatives in the state house in Boston, among theselected fifty-three of Massachusetts 1 most famouscitizens, the names having been selected eitherto mark an epoch or designate a man who hasturned the course of events. Dr. Morton's nameis also enrolled upon the medallions of the newpublic library of Boston, among the five hundredand fifty names chosen from the records of his-torical time in honor of their achievements.

In our Civil War Dr. Morton was with GeneralGrant in the Battles of the Wilderness, and withGeneral Burnside in the Battle of Fredericksburg,administering to the wounded. The following let-ter was written from the headquarters of the Armyof the Potomac to a friend in Washington :

Headquarters, May 19, 1864.My Dear :—Soon after leaving Fredericksburg

to come out here, we passed some four or five armywagons parked, each one with its four or six horses ormules, ready for service, yet near the supplies of for-age. There were also large droves of cattle, broughtfrom the western states for the use of the army, andkilled as they are needed. The road, if road it may becalled, was wretched indeed, the horses often sinking inmud-holes to the saddle-girths. Through this, ambu-lances and wagons were floundering along, carrying thewounded to Fredericksburg, while others, only slightlyinjured, plodded along on foot. Occasionally we passedan impromptu camp, where these slightly wounded menhad stopped to rest, and several newly made gravesshowed where some poor fellows had made their lasthalt. The last five miles of our journeywas over a newroad cut through the woods, as the guerrillas had pos-session of the turnpike near Spottsylvania Court house.Indeed they have occasionally swooped in upon the roadover which we went, carrying off horses and robbing thewounded.

On reaching the top of an eminence, I at last saw ourline, in theshape of a horseshoe, somewhat straightenedout, with troops all around, in readiness for instant at-tack, while beyond them, crouched in rifle-pits, wereour pickets. Riding through regiments and batteriesI reached a house which had been pointed out to meas Gen. Grant’s headquarters, but found on my arrivalthat he had moved, that the building might be used asa hospital, lust then several wounded rebels werebrought up on stretchers, and the surgeon in charge,who had known me after Burnside’s attack upon Chan-cellorsville, invited me to administer ansesthetics, whichI did. All of them had limbs amputated, and seemedvery grateful afterwards for the kind treatment whichthey received, but they were bitterly secesh when thewar was alluded to.

When these wounded rebels had been attended to,the surgeon sent an orderly with me to the headquar-ters of the medical director of the Army of the Poto-

mac, to whom I reported for duty, and then, as therewas no need for my services, I went on until I reachedthe headquarters of the army. These occupied a groupof about twenty tents, pitched along the border of apiece of woodland. In front of one of these tents,the fly of which was converted into an awning, sat thelieutenant general, with several officers and Mr. Dana,the assistant secretary of war.

While Gen. Grant was in Washington I had beenintroduced to him, and he now remembered me andkindly welcomed me. He conversed very frankly uponmilitary matters, declaring that he intended to give therebels all the fighting they wanted. It would not beproper, I suppose, to write you the general’s remarkson the campaign, but I must tell you that in answer tomy question—“ How long is this deadly conflict tolast?” he replied, in his cool, unassuming way, “Per-haps until the Fourth of July, and we shall have allthe time supplies and reinforcements, which they can’tget.”

The general assigned me a tent and an orderly, andinvited me to share his camp-fare. On previous visitsto camps, I had found that the generals lived far betterthan do the boarders at the Washington hotels, but oursupper that night was simply coffee and bread and but-ter. The butter (the general said) was made on thefield of battle.

Since I have been here there has been a succession ofskirmishes and picket firings. The pickets lie crouchedin rifle-pits, in which when it rains, there is often a footor eighteen inches of water, and between them is whatis called the disputed ground. When there is any heavyfiring heard the ambulance corps, with its attendants,stationed nearest to the scene of action, starts for thewounded. The ambulances are halted near by, andthe attendants go in with stretchers to bring out thewounded. The rebels do not generally fire upon thosewearing the ambulance badges.

Upon the arrival of a train of ambulances at a field-hospital the wounds are hastily examined, and thosewho can bear the journey are sent at once to Fred-ericksburg. The nature of the operations to be per-formed upon the others is then decided upon, and notedon a bit of paper pinned to the pillow or roll of blanketunder each patient’s head. When this had been doneI prepared the patients for the knife, producing per-fect anaesthesia in an average time of three minutes,and the operators followed, performing their operationswith dexterous skill, while the dressers in their turnbound up the stumps. It is surprising to see with what

dexterity and rapiditysurgical operations are performedby scores in about the same time really taken up withone case in peaceful regions.

The medical department deserves great credit for theabundant supplies sent to the wounded, while the mem-bers of the Christian and sanitary commissions furnishmany additional comforts. The number of wounded hasbeen greatly exaggerated,and will not to-day amount totwenty thousand. Of this number a large proportionare so slightly wounded that in thirty days they will beready for duty again.

The dead are buried where they fall, or near thehospitals in which they die. Their names are care-fully written on wooden head boards, and entered intoregisters. It is, however, useless for friends to comehere for their remains, as there is no way of transport-ing them to Washington except in government wagons,and the army needs all its transportation.

What houses remain standing are used as hospitals,the female occupants being permitted to retain oneroom. Often a stack of chimneys show where a dwell-ing has been burned. The colored people are leavingfor the North, carrying their effects in small wagons orcarts, often drawn by an ox working in shafts. It hasrained nearly every day since I have been here, but thesoldiers manage to keep themselves comfortable undershelter tents or bowers. Artillerymen sleep under theircannon, which are covered by tarpaulins.

Very truly yours,W. T. G. Morton.

Following is an extract from an Associated Pressreport from the Army of the Potomac:

Dr. Morton, of Boston, one of the first discoverers,if not indeed the lirst discoverer of the anaesthetic pro-perties of ether, has been with the army the last week,working and observing in his capacity, with all hismight. During this time he has, with his own hands,administered ether in over 2,000 cases. The medicaldirector, when asked yesterday in what operations herequired ether to be used, replied, “ In every case.”Day before yesterday some 300 rebel wounded fell intoour hands. Of these twenty-one require capital opera-tions. They were placed in a row, a slip of paper pinnedto each man’s coat collar telling the nature of the opera-tion that had been decided upon. Dr. Morton passesalong, and with a towel saturated with ether puts everyman beyond consciousness and pain. The operating

surgeon follows and rapidly and skillfully amputates aleg or an arm, as the case may be, till the twenty-onehave been subjected to the knife and saw without onetwinge of pain. A second surgeon ties up the arteries;a third dresses the wounds. The men are taken to tentsnear by, and wake to find themselves cut in two withouttorture, while a winrow of lopped off members attest thework. The last man had been operated upon beforethe first awakened. Nothing could be more dramatic,and nothing could more perfectly demonstrate thevalue of anaesthetics. Besides, men fight better whenthey know that torture does not follow a wound, andnumberless lives are saved that the shock of the knifewould lose to their friends and the country.

A very complete account of Dr. Morton’s life andachievements is given in a work entitled “ Trialsof a Public Benefactor,” by Nathan P. Rice, M. D.,Pudney & Russell, New York, 1859.

Dr. Morton married, in May, 1844, Miss Eliza-beth, daughter of Edward Whitman, Esq., of Farm-ington, Conn. Children: William James, born inBoston, Ju1y3,1845 5 Marion Alethe, born in Welles-ley, Mass., February 2, 1847; Edward Whitman,born in Boston, November 29, 1848; ElizabethWhitman, born in Wellesley, July 11, 1850; Bow-ditch, born in Wellesley, October 27, 1857, pre-pared for college at the Institute of Technology,Boston, was graduated from Harvard Medicalschool in 1881.