He was an American dentist who pioneered the use of anesthesia in medicine, specifically the use of nitrous oxide.
He was born in 1815 in Hartford, Vermont.
His parents were well-educated and landowners.
When he was 19 he began studying dentistry in Boston.
4 years later he published the booklet ‘An essay on teeth’, in which he suggested the use of toothbrush, tooth development, oral disease, diet, infection and oral hygiene.
He witnessed a person inhaling nitrous oxide and not responding to pain. The next day he experimented on himself and having another dentist extracting a tooth. He did not feel any pain.
In 1838 he got married and had a son.
After that he became ill and stopped practicing dentistry in 1845.
One day he threw sulfuric acid on 2 prostitutes and went to prison where he committed suicide in 1848.
[Source: en.wikipedia.org]
