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)
My work is done.
I have given the world a new hope.
The greatest revolution in medicine.
I have brought comfort to millions.
My name will be synonymous with relief.
I have made the surgeon's knife a blessing.
The greatest achievement of my life.
I have left my mark on the world.
My discovery is a testament to perseverance.
I have fought for truth and justice.
I am the discoverer of etherization, and the world shall know it.
A new era in surgery has dawned with the introduction of ether.
Pain, that ancient tyrant of the operating table, is dethroned forever.
The inhalation of ether renders the patient insensible to suffering.
Let the surgeons wield their knives without the cries of agony.
Ether is not a dream, but a reality that heals.
In the silence of ether, the soul finds peace amid the blade.
My discovery was born of desperation and ingenuity.
The patent on ether is mine by right of first use.
Surgery without pain is the greatest gift to humanity.
Contemporaries of William Thomas Green Morton
Other Medicines born within 50 years of William Thomas Green Morton (1819–1868).