Making Surgery Painless

James Young Simpson

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"Where observation is concerned, chance favours only the prepared mind" Louis Pasteur

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Simpson became Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University in 1840, Physician to Queen Victoria in 1847, President of the Royal College of Physicians in 1850 and Baronet in 1866.

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It was in 1847, simply by CHANCE, Simpson survived the chloroform dosage he had administered to himself that enabled him to discover the anaesthetic properties of chloroform, and to pursue its use in obstetrics.  He and friends would take a dose of chloroform to test, and would more or less render themselves insensible for hours under the table together, much to the alarm of his mother.  A fearless advocate of the cause of general anaesthetic and his final vindication came when Queen Victoria had chloroform at the birth of Prince Leopold in 1853.

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"All pain is per se and especially in excess, destructive and ultimately fatal in its nature and effects" James Simpson