William Thomas Green Morton
Pioneered the use of ether as a surgical anesthetic, making painless surgery possible.
Most quoted
"I have invented a fluid which, applied to the mouth, will cause a patient to fall into a profound sleep, from which he will awaken without pain."
— from Morton's own account, 1846
"To suffer no more pain, to dread no more the surgeon's knife, to be spared the agony of the operating table – this is a blessing beyond measure."
— from Public statement, 1846
"I have discovered a compound by inhaling which, a person is rendered insensible to pain, and can be operated upon without suffering."
— from Letter to Dr. Charles T. Jackson, 1846
All quotes by William Thomas Green Morton (394)
I have been a pioneer in a new field of human endeavor.
The world was not ready for such a profound change.
My only crime was to alleviate human suffering.
I have brought light into the darkness of pain.
I have discovered a new and better way of producing insensibility to pain during surgical operations.
I am ready to administer the preparation to a patient and have a tooth extracted.
Your patient is ready, sir.
This is no humbug.
I saw that the only way to secure my rights was to make the discovery public, and trust to the honor and justice of my fellow men.
The great object of my life has been accomplished.
Let the discovery be free as the air we breathe.
I have been the means of introducing to the world a discovery that will be of incalculable benefit to the human family.
The world owes me a debt which it can never repay.
I have been robbed of my discovery and my just reward.
The surgeon's knife has lost its terrors.
Pain, the ancient enemy of man, is conquered.
I claim the discovery of the anesthetic powers of ether, and its first practical application in surgery.
I have been made to suffer the pangs of professional jealousy and rivalry.
The blessing of the sufferer is my sufficient reward.
My discovery will revolutionize the art of surgery.
Contemporaries of William Thomas Green Morton
Other Medicines born within 50 years of William Thomas Green Morton (1819–1868).