Dear rusty1here,
William Thomas Green Morton's obituary in the "Medical and Surgical
Reporter" describes the circumstances of his death:
"On July 15, Dr. William T. G. Morton, of Boston, died suddenly in New
York City. He was at the time driving through Central Park, with his
wife. As he was passing Luff's Hotel, he fell forward in his carriage,
out of premonition. His wife screamed, and several other physicians,
and Officer Thompson of the Twelfth Precinct, hastened to the spot and
found MORTON in a dying condition. It was first supposed to be the
effects of the heat, but the pysicians pronounced it a case of
apoplexy, and advised his removal to St. Luke's Hospital. The deceased
achieved considerable reputation in the medical world, while living,
claiming to be the first to introduce ether anaesthesia in the
amputation of limbs and other surgical operations. He had been ill for
some time, and had recently arrived in New York, from Boston, with his
wife."
And on 17 July, the "New York Times" reported:
"(Morton) was removed to St. Luke's Hospital, where death ensued from
congestion of the brain."
The incident in Central Park occured after 9 o'clock in the evening,
according to Morton's wife Elizabeth.
However, there is also a more detailed and slightly different account
of the circumstances of Dr. Morton's death, written by Albert M.
Betcher in his 1957 editorial "A Ride Through Central Park", which
appeared in the journal "Anesthesiology". Betcher's description of the
events is based upon information he obtained from newspaper accounts
contained in a file of the New York Historical Society. His
description is summarized in the book source mentioned below as
follows:
"Wednesday, July 15, 1868, was the thrird day of a grueling heat wave
in New York City, Dr. Betcher wrote, one that had resulted in over 250
deaths from excessive heat during the past three days. Morton had come
to New York in the midst of this terrible heat wave, and, staying in
the Riverside Hotel, was fatiguing by the heat and sleepless nights
fretting over the Abbot publication depreciating his claims. Following
treatment by Dr. Sayre, Morton told his wife that he would soon be
well if he could get out of the hot city. Ordering his buggy to be
brought around, he leaped into the carriage, grasped the reins and
directed the horse over to Fifth Avenue, driving furiously northward.
At 59th Street, he turned into the Park and continued north at a
dangerous rate of speed. Near the upper end of the park, Elizabeth,
noticing froth at the horse's mouth, gently touched his hand holding
the reins. Morton suddenly stopped the carriage, leaped from the
buggy, and headed in the direction of the lake. Elizabeth waited, not
thinking that anything was seriously wrong, but after a few minuted
decided to follow her husband, finding him at the edge of the lake,
bathing his head. She persuaded him to get back into the buggy, and
after he had driven a short distance, almost to the end of the park,
he again alighted, sat down on the grass and, leaning against a tree,
lapsed into unconciousness. A park policeman joined the crowd that had
gathered and summoned an ambulance from nearby St. Luke's hospital."
Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor
Source:
"Tarnished Idol: William Thomas Green Morton and the Introduction of
Surgical Anesthesia", by Richard J. Wolfe, pages 488-490. Published by
Norman Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0930405811 |
,
0 Comments
)