Sulphuric Ether was generally used as a general anesthetic in the 1800s, sometimes in conjunction with opium, but considering its highly flammable properties, the risks were only slightly outweighed by the benefits. One obstetrician from Scotland at least, James Young Simpson, thought something better could be found. Paying a visit to a local chemistry professor, he and his assistant picked out a few substances that might have “respirable vapors” that could be inhaled.

On this day, November 4, in 1847, in a series of experiments, James Young Simpson discovered the anesthetic properties of chloroform.

Simpson wasted no time, creating a version of the compound within days to give to mothers in labor. Everyone up to and including royalty began to use it: Queen Victoria herself delivered her last two children aided by chloroform anesthetics. In a paper delivered to the medical society of Edinburgh, Simpson stated she “never had the pleasure of watching over a series of better and more rapid recoveries,” adding “I have now seen an immense amount of maternal pain and agony saved by its employment.”