Ether Dome - site of first public surgical anesthesia demonstration

The Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital is the surgical amphitheater where, on October 16, 1846, William T. G. Morton publicly demonstrated the use of ether as a surgical anesthetic. That demonstration is widely cited as the first successful public use of general anesthesia in surgery. The Ether Dome is preserved as a historic site and museum space within the hospital complex and is accessible to visitors on guided tours.