Early History of Nitrous Oxide

Thomas Gamsjger

Meitner Monographs

Early History of Nitrous Oxide

Thomas Gamsjger

Abstract
Nitrous oxide was first synthesised by Joseph Priestley in 1772. Humphrey Davy was the first to
recognise the pain alleviating properties of the gas in the year 1800 but failed to follow this line of
inquiry. Only the hitherto unknown dentist by the name of Horace Wells of Hartford in New England
saw the full potential. He discovered inhalational anaesthesia on 11 December 1844.

The Very Beginning

The origins of nitrous oxide (N2O) can be traced back to the year 1772 when the English natural
philosopher Joseph Priestley, who in his capacity as an avid experimenter was also one of the
discoverers of oxygen, first synthesised the gas. He called it 'dephlogisticated nitrous air'14 in
concordance with the prevailing phlogiston theory, which would be superseded by the modern concept
of oxidation in the years following.11 But any applications for his new air Priestley could not discern. He
even considered the gas poisonous.9 Many years later English physician Thomas Beddoes and Scottish
inventor and engineer James Watt (yes, that James Watt who fundamentally improved the steam engine)
renewed the interest in this topic in their book 'Considerations on the medicinal use of factitious airs,
and on the manner of obtaining them in large quantities', which they published in 1794.4 At this time
Beddoes founded the 'Pneumatic Institution' in Bristol dedicated to the study of possible applications of
gases especially in the treatment of tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.9,17 To head the
institution's laboratory Beddoes hired the then still young Humphrey Davy. Davy, who would later
become a chemist of considerable renown, took a keen interest in nitrous oxide and went so far as to
try it on himself by inhaling it from a silk bag.12 After this hands-on experience Davy published his
insights in one of his first books without failing to note the consumer's disposition to laugh already
paving the way to the fact that the substance would later widely be known as 'laughing gas'.7 He even
mentioned one additional peculiar property:8
As nitrous oxide in its extensive operation appears capable of destroying physical pain,
it may probably be used with advantage during surgical operations...
So he even drew the correct conclusions, but just why he failed to follow up on this quite promising
matter is a still unresolved question. It was the year 1800. Only decades later, after endless suffering
from the most excruciating pain during surgical operations, an unknown dentist in New England would
make the long awaited discovery.

Inhalational Anaesthesia
In the meantime, nitrous oxide was widely appreciated for its exhilarating effects. Even nitrous oxide
parties were frequently heard of, especially among medical students.9 Exactly in this vein, the itinerant
lecturer Gardner Quincy Colton came to Hartford, Connecticut, to present to the inclined public in his
'Grand Exhibition' the effects produced by 'Inhaling Nitrous Oxide, Exhilarating or Laughing Gas'.3
Enter the dentist. His name was Horace Wells. With amazement he noted that a young man after
inhaling nitrous oxide severely bruised one of his legs but appeared to feel no pain at all. Wells
immediately saw the potential.1,5,6 Would it be possible to alleviate his own patients from the pain he
inflicted on them during each and every tooth extraction? Wells discussed the astonishing observation
with his former student and fellow dentist John M. Riggs. Already on the next morning Colton was
asked to bring over a bag load of the gas. Wells took a few deep breaths and Riggs removed one of
Wells' molars which had troubled him for quite some time. And Wells felt no pain at all. On this day,
11 December 1844, inhalational anaesthesia was discovered.1,15

Figure 1. Horace Wells

Unfortunately, the first public presentation at Massachusetts General Hospital in nearby Boston ended
in relative failure due to a combination of inappropriate application of the gas to the patient by Wells
himself and a rather hostile audience of medical students under the auspices of Dr. John C. Warren,
Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the Medical School of Harvard University.2 Wells was an
emotionally broken person ever afterwards compounded by a bitter fight with one of his former students
and later colleague William T. Morton over the question of priority.10,18 A few years later he committed
suicide, aged only 33.10
After Morton introduced ether as an inhalational anaesthetic in 18469 nitrous oxide remained mostly
forgotten until from 1863 onwards Gardner Quincy Colton (the same Colton who initially sparked
Wells' discovery) promoted its widespread application.16 Subsequently, nitrous oxide was used in
conjunction with other anaesthetics, especially ether, which further increased its adoption during
surgical operations.13 That the physiological effects of all these gases were only very poorly understood
was not considered as a limiting factor at that time. In addition, it was fairly difficult to apply the correct
amount of gas leading to the occasional overdose accompanied by a manifest lack of oxygen, which
might be seen as a kind of anaesthesia through asphyxiation. But as long as the patients were able to
somehow regain their consciousness, side effects were of only minor relevance.

References
1) Archer WH. The Life and Letters of Horace Wells, Discoverer of Anesthesia. Kessinger Legacy
Reprints 2010, p. 107
2) Ibid., p. 109
3) Ibid., p. 177
4) Beddoes T, Watt J. Considerations on the medicinal use of factitious airs, and on the manner of
obtaining them in large quantities. J. Johnson and H. Murray 1794
5) Colton GQ. A true history of the discovery of anaesthesia. Sherwood 1896
6) Colton GQ. Anaesthesia Who made and developed this great discovery. Sherwood 1886
7) Davy SH. Researches, chemical and philosophical, chiefly concerning nitrous oxide, or dephlogisticated nitrous air, and its respiration. J. Johnson 1800, p. 492
8) Ibid., p. 556
9) Fenster JM. Ether day. Perennial 2002
10) Gamsjger T. Horace Wells On nitrous oxide. CreateSpace Independent Publishing 2013
11) Gribbin J. Science A history. Penguin Books 2003, p. 258
12) Ibid., p. 362
13) Miller AH. Technical development of gas anesthesia. Anesthesiology 1941; 2: 398409
14) Priestley J. Experiments and observations on different kinds of air. Vol. 2, J. Johnson 1790
15) Smith GB, Hirsh NP. Gardner Quincy Colton: Pioneer of Nitrous Oxide Anesthesia. Anesth Analg
1991; 72: 382-391
16) Smith T. An inquiry into the origin of modern anaesthesia. Brown and Gross 1867
17) Stansfield DA. Thomas Beddoes M. D. 1760-1808. Reidel Publishing 1984
18) Wells H. A history of the discovery of the application of nitrous oxide gas, ether, and other vapors
to surgical operations. J. Gaylord Wells 1847

Figures
Figure 1. Horace Wells. Public domain image.
Author
Dr. Thomas Gamsjger, University Hospital St. Plten-Lilienfeld, Propst-Fhrer-Strae 4, 3100 St. Plten, Austria
Date of publication
6 October 2014
Citation
Gamsjger T. Early history of nitrous oxide. Meitner Monographs 2014