447:
432:
420:
475:
227:. The patient later admitted that although he cried out in pain, he remembered no pain and did not know when the tooth was extracted. It was later found that the gas is not as effective on both obese people and alcoholics—the patient was both. After the embarrassment of his failed demonstration, Wells immediately returned home to Hartford the next day. From this point on, his mental health declined, and his dental practice became sporadic.
463:
33:
1081:
195:. While under the influence, Cooley did not react when he struck his legs against a wooden bench while jumping around. After the demonstration, Cooley was unable to recall his actions while under the influence, but found abrasions and bruises on his knees. From this demonstration, Wells realized the potential for the analgesic properties of
291:
his concern for minimizing his patient's pain during dental procedures in 1841. He was known for caring about his patient's comfort. During his time as a dentist, Wells advocated for regular check ups for dental hygiene, and also began the practice of pediatric dentistry in order to start dental care early.
249:
Wells closed his office nine times and relocated six different times between 1836 and 1847. He closed his office due to ill health, although his physician could not find any physical cause for his non-specific complaints. He mentioned his recurring illness in a letter to his sister Mary Wells Cole in
290:
Twelve days before his death, the
Parisian Medical Society voted and honored him as the first to discover and perform surgical operations without pain. In addition, he was elected an honorary member and awarded an honorary MD degree. However, Wells died unaware of these decisions. Wells first voiced
170:
After he completed dental training in Boston, Wells opened his own office in
Hartford, Connecticut on April 4, 1836. Between 1841 and 1845, Wells became a reputable dentist in Hartford, where he had many patients and attracted apprentices. Among his patients were respected members of society such as
210:
and having John Riggs extract a tooth. Upon a successful trial where he did not feel any pain, Wells went on to use nitrous oxide on at least 12 other patients in his office. In 1844, Hartford did not have a hospital, so Wells sought to demonstrate his new findings in either Boston or New York. In
161:
At age 23, Wells published a booklet "An Essay on Teeth" in which he advocated for his ideas in preventive dentistry, particularly for the use of a toothbrush. In his booklet, he also described tooth development and oral diseases, where he mentioned diet, infection, and oral hygiene as important
215:
resided. Wells and Morton's practice had been dissolved in
October 1844, but they remained in contact. Morton was enrolled in Harvard Medical School at the time and agreed to help Wells introduce his ideas, and provide him with dental instruments, although Morton was skeptical about the use of
261:
Wells moved to New York City in
January 1848, leaving his wife and young son behind in Hartford. He lived alone at 120 Chambers St in Lower Manhattan and began self-experimenting with ether and chloroform, and he became addicted to chloroform. The effects of sniffing chloroform and ether were
237:
In
October 1846, Morton gave a successful demonstration of ether anesthesia in Boston. Following Morton's demonstration, Wells published a letter accounting his successful trials in 1844 in an attempt to claim the discovery of anesthesia. His efforts in establishing his claim were mostly
253:
Wells definitively ended his dental practice in late 1845 and began selling shower baths for which he received a patent on
November 4, 1846. He also planned to sail to Paris to purchase paintings to resell in the United States. He traveled to Paris in early 1847, where he petitioned the
250:
April 1837. He also became ill shortly after marrying
Elizabeth Wales in 1838 and having his only son Charles Thomas Wells. During winter months, he would not write letters to any family or friends, except for his published letter in 1846 after Morton's ether demonstration.
446:
190:
as "A Grand
Exhibition of the Effects Produced by Inhaling Nitrous Oxide, Exhilarating, or Laughing Gas." The demonstration took place at Union Hall, Hartford. During the demonstration, a local apothecary shop clerk Samuel A. Cooley became intoxicated by
273:
Prison. As the influence of the drug waned, his mind started to clear and he realised what he had done. He asked the guards to escort him to his house to pick up his shaving kit. He committed suicide in his cell on
January 24, slitting his left
816:
Discovery by the late Dr. Horace Wells of the applicability of nitrous oxyd gas, sulphuric ether and other vapors in surgical operations, nearly two years before the patented discovery of Drs. Charles T. Jackson and W.T.G.
1299:
855:. Boston, Mass: Published by the Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, in association with the Historical Museum of Medicine and Dentistry, Hartford.
1314:
1122:
241:
Despite his advertisement for dissolving his practice in April 1845, Wells sporadically continued his practice, with his last daybook entry being on
November 5, 1845.
158:. At the age of 19 in 1834, Wells began studying dentistry under a two-year apprenticeship in Boston. The first dental school did not open until 1840 in Baltimore.
437:
309:
431:
453:
279:
851:
Wells, Horace; Menczer, Leonard F.; Wolfe, Richard J.; Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine; Historical Museum of Medicine and Dentistry, eds. (1994).
1304:
510:
Martin, Ramon F. (September 27, 2015). "An Examination of Horace Wells' Life as a Manifestation of Major Depressive and Seasonal Affective Disorders".
1294:
119:
1309:
853:
I awaken to glory: essays celebrating the sesquicentennial of the discovery of anesthesia by Horace Wells, December 11, 1844-December 11, 1994
860:
351:
1249:
179:. In 1843, Wells and Morton started a practice in Boston and Wells continued to instruct Morton. John Riggs later became a partner of him.
1259:
1289:
327:
1319:
1233:
474:
888:
182:
Wells first witnessed the effects of nitrous oxide on December 10, 1844, when he and his wife Elizabeth attended a demonstration by
419:
234:
that he was going to dissolve his dental practice, and referred all his patients to Riggs, the man who had extracted his tooth.
1202:
345:
1152:
299:
295:
255:
211:
January 1845 he chose to go to Boston where he had previously studied dentistry, and his former student and associate
1211:
462:
1178:
A History of the Discovery of the Application of Nitrous Oxide Gas, Ether, and Other Vapors to Surgical Operations
363:
1324:
320:
1088:
957:
646:
An essay on teeth : comprising a brief description of their formation, diseases, and proper treatment
155:
150:. His parents were well-educated and affluent landowners, which allowed him to attend private schools in
384:
305:
200:
183:
223:
at the end of January 1845. However, the gas was improperly administered, and the patient cried out in
881:
Horace and Elizabeth: Love and Death and Painless Dentistry: The Letters of Horace and Elizabeth Wells
1284:
1279:
371:
340:
176:
1193:
Ether Day – The Strange Tale of America's Greatest Medical Discovery and the Haunted Men Who Made It
1012:
904:
Aljohani, Sara (September 2015). "Horace Wells and His House on 120 Chambers St in New York Ciity".
146:
Wells was the first of three children of Horace and Betsy Heath Wells, born on January 21, 1815, in
800:
399:
230:
On February 5, 1845, Wells advertised his home for rent. On April 7, 1845, Wells advertised in the
212:
795:
Wells, Horace, 1815-1848., “Letter of Horace Wells to the editor of the Hartford Daily Courant,”
775:
404:
673:
330:
awarded him an honorary posthumous degree (Doctor of Dental Surgery, DDS.) on October 10, 1990.
1229:
1198:
994:
921:
884:
856:
767:
717:
625:
617:
573:
527:
172:
147:
53:
598:"Keeping Ether "En-Vogue": The Role of Nathan Cooley Keep in the History of Ether Anesthesia"
984:
913:
757:
707:
669:
661:
609:
563:
519:
118:
649:. Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Yale University. Hartford : Printed for the author.
835:
814:
644:
1226:
The Strange and True Tale of Horace Wells, Surgeon Dentist: A Novel – Historical Fiction
989:
972:
820:. Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Yale University. Hartford : E. Geer. p. 40.
712:
695:
568:
551:
275:
130:(January 21, 1815 – January 24, 1848) was an American dentist who pioneered the use of
1123:"Defeating Surgical Anguish: A Worldwide Tale of Creativity, Hostility, and Discovery"
1273:
1191:
394:
367:
313:
266:
207:
196:
192:
151:
135:
93:
72:
1254:
1176:
779:
840:. Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Yale University. Hartford : Brown and Gross.
389:
298:
honored Wells posthumously in 1864 as the discoverer of modern anesthesia, and the
762:
745:
258:
and the Parisian Medical Society for recognition in the discovery of anesthesia.
942:
696:"Lessons from history: Horace Wells and the moral features of clinical contexts"
917:
613:
523:
265:
Wells rushed into the street on January 21, 1848, his 33rd birthday, and threw
269:
over the clothing of two prostitutes. He was committed to New York's infamous
131:
97:
621:
597:
278:
with a razor after inhaling an analgesic dose of chloroform. He is buried at
1055:
270:
998:
925:
771:
629:
531:
171:
William Ellsworth, the governor of Connecticut. His three apprentices were
721:
577:
32:
1250:
Take a Walk through Hartford with Horace Wells, Founder of Anesthesia
220:
1264:
370:
as an anesthetic, as well as the life of his protege and partner,
206:
The following day, Wells conducted a trial on himself by inhaling
801:
https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/18187
224:
16:
American dentist who pioneered the use of anesthesia (1815–1848)
973:"Suicide of Dr. Horace Wells, of Hartford, Connecticut, U.S"
407:, Who was the tutor of both Horace wells and William Morton.
343:
with drugs was explored in an episode of Science Channel's
349:
in a story entitled "Jekyll vs Hyde", comparing it to the
746:"Horace Wells' Demonstration of Nitrous Oxide in Boston"
366:
centers around the story of Horace Wells' discovery of
1300:
Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut)
596:
Guralnick, Walter C.; Kaban, Leonard B. (July 2011).
111:
103:
88:
80:
61:
39:
23:
1190:
1086:Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Wells, Horace".
834:Smith, Truman; Ellsworth, Pickney Webster (1867).
1315:Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States
456:, Hartford, Connecticut (Louis Potter, sculptor).
837:An inquiry into the origin of modern anaesthesia
1157:The Journal of the American College of Dentists
219:He gave a demonstration to medical students in
362:, written by Elizabeth Egloff and directed by
358:A full-length theatrical production, entitled
1214:, New York Times, August 12, 2001 (review of
319:A monument to Horace Wells was raised in the
8:
545:
543:
541:
31:
20:
988:
761:
739:
737:
735:
733:
731:
711:
674:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1200962
602:Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
567:
1121:Khan, Iqbal Akhtar; Winters, Charles J.
689:
687:
685:
683:
552:"Horace Wells: discoverer of anesthesia"
505:
503:
501:
499:
497:
495:
977:Providence Medical and Surgical Journal
491:
415:
1153:"The life and letters of Horace Wells"
1130:Journal of Anesthesia and Patient Care
937:
935:
883:. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp.
879:Bunker, Emily, ed. (March 20, 2020).
874:
872:
829:
827:
452:Horace Wells Burial Monument (1909),
352:Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
134:in medicine, specifically the use of
7:
955:"Distressing And Singular Suicide".
791:
789:
591:
589:
587:
302:recognized his achievement in 1870.
328:Baltimore College of Dental Surgery
666:American National Biography Online
660:Gordon, Sarah H. (February 2000).
14:
1305:People from Hartford, Connecticut
744:Haridas, Rajesh (November 2013).
1079:
473:
461:
445:
430:
418:
117:
1212:Musto, David F., "They Inhaled"
468:Statue of Horace Wells in Paris
1295:19th-century American dentists
1255:Vermont History – Horace Wells
1181:. Hartford: J. Gaylord Wells.
1151:Archer, W. Harry (June 1944).
1017:Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation
346:Dark Matters: Twisted But True
1:
1310:People from Hartford, Vermont
945:: New York, 1998. pp. 62–63.
906:Journal of Anesthesia History
512:Journal of Anesthesia History
983:(11): 305–06. May 31, 1848.
763:10.1097/aln.0b013e3182a771ea
300:American Medical Association
1197:. New York: HarperCollins.
296:American Dental Association
256:Academie Royale de Medicine
1341:
1290:American anesthesiologists
1189:Fenster, Julie M. (2001).
918:10.1016/j.janh.2015.09.006
614:10.1016/j.joms.2011.02.121
524:10.1016/j.janh.2015.09.005
480:Death Mask of Horace Wells
282:in Hartford, Connecticut.
1320:Suicides in New York City
799:, accessed May 27, 2024,
203:about conducting trials.
116:
30:
550:Jacobsohn, P.H. (1995).
440:in Hartford, Connecticut
339:The story of Dr. Wells'
1224:Downs, Michael (2018).
941:Smith, Ken. Raw Deal.
175:, C. A. Kingsbury, and
1175:Wells, Horace (1847).
1089:Encyclopedia Americana
958:Springfield Republican
813:Toucey, Isaac (1852).
643:Wells, Horace (1838).
438:Statue of Horace Wells
310:statue of Horace Wells
156:Amherst, Massachusetts
92:Pioneering the use of
1265:The Horace Wells Club
694:Finder, S.G. (1995).
385:Dental anesthesiology
306:Hartford, Connecticut
184:Gardner Quincy Colton
454:Cedar Hills Cemetery
341:self-experimentation
321:Place des États-Unis
177:William T. G. Morton
961:. January 26, 1848.
700:Anesthesia Progress
556:Anesthesia Progress
425:Horace Wells Plaque
400:James Young Simpson
280:Cedar Hill Cemetery
138:(or laughing gas).
405:Nathan Cooley Keep
334:In popular culture
1260:Herald (Scotland)
862:978-0-88135-161-3
173:John Mankey Riggs
148:Hartford, Vermont
125:
124:
54:Hartford, Vermont
1332:
1239:
1208:
1196:
1185:
1164:
1138:
1137:
1127:
1118:
1112:
1109:
1103:
1100:
1094:
1093:
1083:
1082:
1077:
1071:
1070:
1068:
1066:
1052:
1046:
1043:
1037:
1034:
1028:
1027:
1025:
1023:
1009:
1003:
1002:
992:
969:
963:
962:
952:
946:
939:
930:
929:
901:
895:
894:
876:
867:
866:
848:
842:
841:
831:
822:
821:
810:
804:
793:
784:
783:
765:
741:
726:
725:
715:
691:
678:
677:
657:
651:
650:
640:
634:
633:
608:(7): 1892–1897.
593:
582:
581:
571:
547:
536:
535:
507:
477:
465:
449:
434:
422:
232:Hartford Courant
188:Hartford Courant
121:
68:
65:January 24, 1848
50:January 21, 1815
49:
47:
35:
21:
1340:
1339:
1335:
1334:
1333:
1331:
1330:
1329:
1270:
1269:
1246:
1236:
1223:
1205:
1188:
1174:
1171:
1169:Further reading
1150:
1147:
1142:
1141:
1125:
1120:
1119:
1115:
1111:Archer, 184-185
1110:
1106:
1102:Archer, 174-176
1101:
1097:
1085:
1080:
1078:
1074:
1064:
1062:
1054:
1053:
1049:
1044:
1040:
1035:
1031:
1021:
1019:
1011:
1010:
1006:
971:
970:
966:
954:
953:
949:
940:
933:
903:
902:
898:
891:
878:
877:
870:
863:
850:
849:
845:
833:
832:
825:
812:
811:
807:
794:
787:
743:
742:
729:
693:
692:
681:
662:"Wells, Horace"
659:
658:
654:
642:
641:
637:
595:
594:
585:
549:
548:
539:
509:
508:
493:
488:
481:
478:
469:
466:
457:
450:
441:
435:
426:
423:
414:
381:
336:
288:
247:
216:nitrous oxide.
199:, and met with
168:
144:
107:Elizabeth Wales
76:
70:
66:
57:
51:
45:
43:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1338:
1336:
1328:
1327:
1325:1840s suicides
1322:
1317:
1312:
1307:
1302:
1297:
1292:
1287:
1282:
1272:
1271:
1268:
1267:
1262:
1257:
1252:
1245:
1244:External links
1242:
1241:
1240:
1235:978-1946724045
1234:
1228:. Acre Books.
1221:
1220:
1219:
1203:
1186:
1170:
1167:
1166:
1165:
1146:
1143:
1140:
1139:
1113:
1104:
1095:
1072:
1056:"Horace Wells"
1047:
1038:
1029:
1013:"Horace Wells"
1004:
964:
947:
931:
896:
889:
868:
861:
843:
823:
805:
785:
756:(5): 1014–22.
750:Anesthesiology
727:
679:
652:
635:
583:
562:(3–4): 73–75.
537:
490:
489:
487:
484:
483:
482:
479:
472:
470:
467:
460:
458:
451:
444:
442:
436:
429:
427:
424:
417:
413:
410:
409:
408:
402:
397:
392:
387:
380:
377:
376:
375:
372:William Morton
364:Michael Wilson
356:
335:
332:
287:
284:
276:femoral artery
246:
243:
238:unsuccessful.
213:William Morton
186:billed in the
167:
164:
143:
140:
123:
122:
114:
113:
109:
108:
105:
101:
100:
90:
89:Known for
86:
85:
82:
78:
77:
71:
69:(aged 33)
63:
59:
58:
52:
41:
37:
36:
28:
27:
24:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1337:
1326:
1323:
1321:
1318:
1316:
1313:
1311:
1308:
1306:
1303:
1301:
1298:
1296:
1293:
1291:
1288:
1286:
1283:
1281:
1278:
1277:
1275:
1266:
1263:
1261:
1258:
1256:
1253:
1251:
1248:
1247:
1243:
1237:
1231:
1227:
1222:
1217:
1213:
1210:
1209:
1206:
1200:
1195:
1194:
1187:
1184:
1183:Horace Wells.
1180:
1179:
1173:
1172:
1168:
1162:
1158:
1154:
1149:
1148:
1144:
1135:
1131:
1124:
1117:
1114:
1108:
1105:
1099:
1096:
1091:
1090:
1076:
1073:
1061:
1057:
1051:
1048:
1042:
1039:
1033:
1030:
1018:
1014:
1008:
1005:
1000:
996:
991:
986:
982:
978:
974:
968:
965:
960:
959:
951:
948:
944:
938:
936:
932:
927:
923:
919:
915:
911:
907:
900:
897:
892:
890:9798622825798
886:
882:
875:
873:
869:
864:
858:
854:
847:
844:
839:
838:
830:
828:
824:
819:
818:
809:
806:
802:
798:
792:
790:
786:
781:
777:
773:
769:
764:
759:
755:
751:
747:
740:
738:
736:
734:
732:
728:
723:
719:
714:
709:
705:
701:
697:
690:
688:
686:
684:
680:
675:
671:
667:
663:
656:
653:
648:
647:
639:
636:
631:
627:
623:
619:
615:
611:
607:
603:
599:
592:
590:
588:
584:
579:
575:
570:
565:
561:
557:
553:
546:
544:
542:
538:
533:
529:
525:
521:
517:
513:
506:
504:
502:
500:
498:
496:
492:
485:
476:
471:
464:
459:
455:
448:
443:
439:
433:
428:
421:
416:
411:
406:
403:
401:
398:
396:
395:Crawford Long
393:
391:
388:
386:
383:
382:
378:
373:
369:
368:nitrous oxide
365:
361:
357:
354:
353:
348:
347:
342:
338:
337:
333:
331:
329:
324:
322:
317:
315:
314:Bushnell Park
311:
307:
303:
301:
297:
292:
285:
283:
281:
277:
272:
268:
267:sulfuric acid
263:
259:
257:
251:
244:
242:
239:
235:
233:
228:
226:
222:
217:
214:
209:
208:nitrous oxide
204:
202:
198:
197:nitrous oxide
194:
193:nitrous oxide
189:
185:
180:
178:
174:
165:
163:
159:
157:
153:
152:New Hampshire
149:
141:
139:
137:
136:nitrous oxide
133:
129:
120:
115:
110:
106:
102:
99:
95:
94:nitrous oxide
91:
87:
83:
79:
74:
73:New York City
64:
60:
55:
42:
38:
34:
29:
22:
19:
1225:
1215:
1192:
1182:
1177:
1160:
1156:
1133:
1129:
1116:
1107:
1098:
1087:
1075:
1063:. Retrieved
1059:
1050:
1041:
1032:
1020:. Retrieved
1016:
1007:
980:
976:
967:
956:
950:
912:(1): 28–29.
909:
905:
899:
880:
852:
846:
836:
815:
808:
796:
753:
749:
703:
699:
665:
655:
645:
638:
605:
601:
559:
555:
515:
511:
390:Humphry Davy
359:
350:
344:
325:
318:
304:
293:
289:
264:
260:
252:
248:
240:
236:
231:
229:
218:
205:
187:
181:
169:
160:
145:
128:Horace Wells
127:
126:
67:(1848-01-24)
25:Horace Wells
18:
1285:1848 deaths
1280:1815 births
1045:Archer, 202
1036:Archer, 200
943:Blast Books
245:Later years
1274:Categories
1204:0060195231
706:(1): 3–4.
486:References
360:Ether Dome
142:Early life
132:anesthesia
98:anesthesia
81:Occupation
46:1815-01-21
1216:Ether Day
622:0278-2391
518:(1): 24.
323:, Paris.
262:unknown.
162:factors.
112:Signature
1136:(1): 12.
1065:April 6,
1060:nndb.com
999:20794459
926:26898143
780:37457024
772:23962967
630:21549472
532:26898142
379:See also
308:, has a
1145:Sources
1022:May 26,
990:2487383
722:8934954
713:2148867
578:8967633
569:2148901
412:Gallery
84:Dentist
1232:
1201:
1084:
997:
987:
924:
887:
859:
817:Morton
797:OnView
778:
770:
720:
710:
628:
620:
576:
566:
530:
286:Legacy
221:Boston
201:Colton
166:Career
104:Spouse
75:, U.S.
56:, U.S.
1126:(PDF)
776:S2CID
271:Tombs
1230:ISBN
1199:ISBN
1163:(2).
1067:2017
1024:2024
995:PMID
922:PMID
885:ISBN
857:ISBN
768:PMID
718:PMID
626:PMID
618:ISSN
574:PMID
528:PMID
326:The
294:The
225:pain
154:and
62:Died
40:Born
985:PMC
914:doi
758:doi
754:119
708:PMC
670:doi
610:doi
564:PMC
520:doi
312:in
96:in
1276::
1161:11
1159:.
1155:.
1132:.
1128:.
1058:.
1015:.
993:.
981:12
979:.
975:.
934:^
920:.
908:.
871:^
826:^
788:^
774:.
766:.
752:.
748:.
730:^
716:.
704:42
702:.
698:.
682:^
668:.
664:.
624:.
616:.
606:69
604:.
600:.
586:^
572:.
560:42
558:.
554:.
540:^
526:.
514:.
494:^
316:.
1238:.
1218:)
1207:.
1134:3
1092:.
1069:.
1026:.
1001:.
928:.
916::
910:2
893:.
865:.
803:.
782:.
760::
724:.
676:.
672::
632:.
612::
580:.
534:.
522::
516:2
374:.
355:.
48:)
44:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
