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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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James Simpson
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(1811–70, bt 1866) Scottish obstetrician whose fame derives from his pioneering use of chloroform. In 1846 an American dentist, William Morton, demonstrated the pain-killing effects of ether. Simpson, a professor of midwifery in Edinburgh, recognized the need for a more reliable anaesthetic and in 1847 found the answer in chloroform (his first patient was so enthusiastic that she named her baby girl Anaesthesia). Initial public resistance crumbled after chloroform was given to Queen *Victoria for the birth of Prince Leopold in 1853.
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