MORTON, WILLIAM THOMAS GREEN (1819 6S). An American dentist, exploiter of the general anesthetic properties of sulphuric ether. He was burn at Charlton, Mass. In 1S40 he took up the study of dentistry at the Baltimore Col lege of Dental Surgery, then recently established by the new Society of American Dental Surgeons. On his return to Boston in 1842 to practice Morton's attention was drawn toward medicine, and in 1844 he began study with Dr. Jackson of Boston, and continued in the Harvard Medical School. He did not complete his course. but was afterwards awarded the degree of 51 D. lionoris cause by the present College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore. The art of dentistry was at that time in a transition stage, and Morton's inventive genius discovered many improvements, especially in attaching false teeth. lie first de vised a new solder by which teeth could be at tached to gold plates, and further contrived to obviate dependence upon old fangs in inserting new teeth. The removal of these stumps or roots was attended with great pain. and alcoholic stim ulation, laudanum, and the galvanic current were tried to diminish it, without avail. In the course of his investigations Morton became acquainted with the value of sulphuric ether as a local ann'sthetic and used it in minor operations. After a long series of experiments on animals, he finally succeeded in proving the efficacy of vapor ized ether, and making known his results to Dr.
John C. Warren, he administered ether at the latter's request in the Massachusettki General Hospital, thetoperation being that of removing a tumor from the jaw. The first public demon stration was made Ortober IG. 1846. At the sug gestion of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes the new form of narcosis was christened `anaesthesia.' Dr. Morton obtained a patent for the use of ether, under the name of 'let heon.' in 1846.a month after the operation in the hospital, and a month after this, in England. Dr. C. T. .Tackson also claimed the honor of having made the discovery, and the Montyon prize of the French Academy was equally awarded to Dr. and to Dr. .Tack son, but Dr. :Morton declined to accept it. which resulted in his receiving in 1852 the large gold medal, the Montyon prize in medicine and sur gery. He claimed compensation from Congress fur his invention, the Government having used it, and also from individuals, and he was involved in many suits. Ile received, however, no com pensation, and his life was spent in contests, literary and legal, in regard to his invention. Memorials were presented to Congress signed by many physicians, but for ono reason or another they failed to secure what was asked.