Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans and helped to popularise its use in medicine. Dr Simpson used to try new chemicals to see if they had any anaesthetic effect. In 1847, he decided to try chloroform, but suddenly collapsed only to regain consciousness the next morning. Woken by his butler, Simpson knew he had found something that could be used as an anaesthetic.

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Size: 3776px × 2936px
Location: Great Britain
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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