Simpson and colleagues test chloroform

The experiment helped develop a distinct smallpox vaccine; variolation had already been practiced in Asia and parts of Africa.

Morton administered ether while Warren operated on Abbott at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Abbott was the patient in a highly publicized demonstration; earlier ether procedures also existed.

The public operation helped spread the use of inhaled anesthesia in surgery.

The demonstration showed that ether could reduce pain; the quality and completeness of Abbott’s anesthesia have been debated.

The dated self-experiment helped lead to chloroform use in surgery and childbirth, with safety risks recognized later.

The testing involved several participants; its subsequent publicity focused heavily on Simpson.

The 4 November episode concerned preliminary self-testing, not a documented operation on a patient.

After Snow presented evidence about cholera cases, the local authorities disabled the water pump.

The removal was a public-health response to a concentrated Soho outbreak.