Mount Auburn Cemetery and its importance to the history of anesthesia
Department of Anesthesiology
Medical Subject Headings
Anesthesia; Anesthesiology; Cemeteries; History, 19th Century; Massachusetts
Anesthesiology | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts, is home to many sites related to the first public demonstration of ether, including the Ether Dome, the Ether Monument, and several homes in which William T. G. Morton lived. Notably, many of the participants in Morton’s successful demonstration of ether are buried in nearby Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here we explore how changing burial customs in early 19th-century America brought so many of these individuals to rest in one location. We explain how Mount Auburn Cemetery was established, the difficulties it faced, how it evolved, and the role it plays today. Moreover, we describe some of its remarkable features and explore some unusual structures located within this institution so very closely associated with the history of anesthesia.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Bull Anesth Hist. 2012 Oct;30(2):25-9, 32. Link to article on publisher's site
Cooper, Bronwyn and Desai, Sukumar P., "Mount Auburn Cemetery and its importance to the history of anesthesia" (2012). Anesthesiology Publications and Presentations. Paper 179.