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)
The greatest triumph of science over suffering.
I have been robbed of my just reward.
The world will remember me as the man who abolished pain.
I have endured much, but I have never regretted my efforts.
My discovery is a gift from God.
I have opened a new chapter in the history of medicine.
The greatest benefactor of mankind.
I have fought a good fight.
My name will live forever.
I have given ease to the suffering.
The greatest discovery of the nineteenth century.
I have made the impossible possible.
My life has been a struggle, but a glorious one.
I have brought light into darkness.
The world will never forget what I have done.
I have triumphed over adversity.
My legacy is the relief of human pain.
I have made surgery humane.
The greatest gift to humanity.
I have fulfilled my destiny.
Contemporaries of William Thomas Green Morton
Other Medicines born within 50 years of William Thomas Green Morton (1819–1868).