HISTORIC PLACES GUIDE

National Register of Historic Places

Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital

Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital is a historic place in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 66000366.

Boston, Suffolk County, MassachusettsListed October 15, 1966NRIS #66000366★ National Historic Landmark
Photograph of Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital
Photo: Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital via Wikimedia Commons — see the file page for author and license. Image source
Noir atlas

Location 01

Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital

Drag to explore · scroll to zoom · select a marker

About this place

What is Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital?

The Ether Dome is a surgical operating amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It served as the hospital's operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on October 16, 1846, otherwise known as Ether Day. The Ether Dome event occurred when William Thomas Green Morton, a local dentist, used ether to anesthetize Edward Gilbert Abbott. John Collins Warren, the first dean of Harvard Medical School, then painlessly removed part of a tumor from Abbott's neck. After Warren had finished, and Abbott regained consciousness, Warren asked the patient how he felt. Reportedly, Abbott said, "Feels as if my neck's been scratched". Warren then turned to his medical audience and uttered "Gentlemen, this is no Humbug". This was presumably a reference to the unsuccessful demonstration of nitrous oxide anesthesia by Horace Wells in the same theater the previous year, which was ended by cries of "Humbug!" after the patient groaned with pain.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Listing details

Name
Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital
City
Boston
County
Suffolk County
State
Massachusetts
Listed on the National Register
October 15, 1966
NRIS reference number
66000366
Resource type
building
National Historic Landmark
Yes
Coordinates
42.36350, -71.06795
When was Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital listed on the National Register?

Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Where is Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital located?

Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital is located in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts at approximately 42.36350, -71.06795. See the map above.

Is Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Ether Dome, Massachusetts General Hospital is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.

Nearby on the register

More historic places in Massachusetts