Ether Monument
Fountain and sculpture in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
title: "Ether Monument" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1860s-establishments-in-massachusetts", "1867-establishments-in-massachusetts", "1867-sculptures", "boston-public-garden", "fountains-in-massachusetts", "landmarks-in-back-bay,-boston", "monuments-and-memorials-in-boston", "outdoor-sculptures-in-boston", "stone-sculptures-in-massachusetts"] description: "Fountain and sculpture in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S." topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether_Monument" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Fountain and sculpture in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox monument"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ether Monument |
| image | Ether Monument Overview.JPG |
| caption | "Ether Monument" in the Public Garden. |
| location | Public Garden, Boston, United States |
| designer | William Robert Ware and John Quincy Adams Ward |
| type | Monument |
| height | 40 feet |
| complete | 1868 |
| dedicated_to | Use of diethyl ether in anesthesia |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Ether Monument | native_name = | image = Ether Monument Overview.JPG | caption = "Ether Monument" in the Public Garden. | location = Public Garden, Boston, United States | designer = William Robert Ware and John Quincy Adams Ward | type = Monument | material = | length = | width = | height = 40 feet | visitors_num = | visitors_year = | begin = | complete = 1868 | dedicated = | open = | restore = | dismantled = | dedicated_to = Use of diethyl ether in anesthesia | map_name = | map_text = | map_width = | map_relief = | coordinates = | website = | extra =
The Ether Monument, also known as The Good Samaritan, is a statue and fountain near the northwest corner of Boston's Public Garden, near the intersection of Arlington Street and Marlborough Street.
It commemorates the use of ether in anesthesia. Its design has been attributed to the Boston architect William Robert Ware{{cite web | url = http://web.mit.edu/museum/ware/ware_bio.html | publisher = MIT Museum | title = William Robert Ware | access-date = 2009-03-30 | archive-date = 2016-04-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160430031449/http://web.mit.edu/museum/ware/ware_bio.html | url-status = live | url = http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0008105.htm | title = Ether Monument (The Good Samaritan) in the Boston Public Gardens in Massachusetts | publisher = dcMemorials | access-date = 2010-03-01 | archive-date = 2010-04-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100424055021/http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0008105.htm | url-status = dead | url = http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15438 | publisher = Roadside America | title = Ether Monument | access-date = 2009-03-30 | archive-date = 2009-02-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090218143003/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15438 | url-status = live
Description
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Ether_Monument_Close-up.JPG" caption="Closeup of the top of the monument."] ::
The statue depicts a medical doctor in medieval Moorish-Spanish robe and turban—representing a Good Samaritan—who holds the drooping body of an almost naked man on his left knee. The doctor holds in his right hand a cloth, suggesting the use of ether that would be developed in centuries to come.
The anachronistic use of a Moorish doctor was probably intentional and served to avoid choosing sides in a debate that was raging at the time over who should receive credit for the first use of ether as an anesthetic. A handful of individuals had claimed credit for the discovery of anesthesia, most notably William T. G. Morton and Crawford Long.{{cite book | title= Ether Day: The Strange Tale of America's Greatest Medical Discovery and the Haunted Men Who Made It | last = Fenster | first = Julie M. | publisher = Harper Collins | year = 2001 | id = (hardcover), (paperback)
Inscriptions
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/EtherMmnt1.JPG"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/EtherMmnt2.JPG"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/EtherMmnt4.JPG"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Ether_Monument_-Boston_Public_Garden-_Boston,MA-_DSC08107.JPG"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Ether_Monument_-Boston_Public_Garden-_Boston,MA-_DSC08111.JPG"] ::
At the base of the statue are inscriptions explaining the significance of the discovery of the use of ether as an anesthetic. There are four inscriptions, which include biblical quotations from Isaiah 28:29 and Revelation 21:4:
- To commemorate the discovery that the inhaling of ether causes insensibility to pain. First proved to the world at the Mass. General Hospital in Boston, October A.D. MDCCCXLVI
- This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. Isaiah.
- In gratitude for the relief of human suffering by the inhaling of ether a citizen of Boston has erected this monument A.D. MDCCCLXVII.
- Neither shall there be any more pain. Rev.
History
Massachusetts General Hospital, where this procedure took place, is located about a 15-minute walk from the site of the monument. The operating theater at MGH where the experiment took place was renamed the Ether Dome. It is now a National Historic Landmark. Several books have been written about this specific event.
The monument was erected in 1868. It was restored and rededicated in 2006.
Upkeep
As an outdoor monument in an area with a harsh climate, the structure has needed regular upkeep and repair. One source of revenue for upkeep of the monument has been income from R. A. Ortega's Written in Granite: An Illustrated History of the Ether Monument,{{cite book | editor-last = Ortega | editor-first = Rafael A. | title = Written in Granite: An Illustrated History of the Ether Monument | publisher = Plexus Management | location = Boston, MA, USA | isbn = 978-0-87270-142-7}} which is available only by making a donation of at least $100 through the Friends of the Public Garden{{cite web | url = https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/donate/ether-monument/ | title = The Ether Monument: Preserving the Heritage of Anesthesiology | access-date = 2019-02-20 | archive-date = 2019-02-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190221113458/https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/donate/ether-monument/ | url-status = live | title = Review: Written in Granite: An Illustrated History of the Ether Monument. R. A. Ortega (editor). | doi = 10.1093/bja/ael325 | publisher = The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia | work = British Journal of Anaesthesia | volume = 98 | number = 1 | pages = 155–156 | last = Wildsmith | first = J. A. W. | doi-access = free
References
References
- [http://boston.about.com/od/photosofboston/ig/Boston-Public-Garden-Photos/The-Ether-Monument.htm About.com, "Boston Public Garden Photo Gallery"]{{Dead link. (August 2019)
- "Boston Dentist Demonstrates Ether: October 16, 1846". Mass Moments.
- Coukell, Alan. (October 12, 2006). "Revisiting a Boston Monument to Ether". [[National Public Radio]].
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