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There Shall Be No Pain

WSHU | By Davis Dunavin
Published February 1, 2019 at 7:29 AM EST
Davis Dunavin
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WSHU
Horace Wells' portrait in the 1884 history "The Discovery of Modern Anesthesia," and a view of one side of his grave in Hartford's Cedar Hill Cemetery.

A young dentist in the 1840s is believed to be the first doctor to use nitrous oxide – laughing gas – to dull pain. But the father of anesthesia met a tragic end. His story begins in Hartford, Connecticut, and ends in New York City.
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Davis Dunavin
Davis Dunavin loves telling stories, whether on the radio or around the campfire. He started in Missouri and ended up in Connecticut, which, he'd like to point out, is the same geographic trajectory taken by Mark Twain.
See stories by Davis Dunavin