In 1847, a Scottish obstetrician showed the world the use of a vital medicine while helping women during childbirth and making surgeries safe and painless, changing the course of medical science forever

In 1847, a Scottish obstetrician showed the world the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic during childbirth and surgery. Sir James Young Simpson was a doctor and professor of midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. His work came at a time when patients often experienced pain during medical procedures because effective anaesthesia was still developing. Simpson had already tested ether for labour pain after news of its surgical use reached Scotland in 1846. He later searched for another substance and tested chloroform with colleagues. His work helped establish chloroform as an anaesthetic and changed medical practice.

The work that changed childbirth and surgery

Sir James Young Simpson was born on June 7, 1811, in Bathgate, Linlithgowshire, Scotland. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1832.

In 1840, at the age of 28, Simpson became Professor of Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. His field covered obstetrics and related areas of women's health.


Simpson became interested in ways to reduce pain during medical procedures. At that time, surgery could involve severe pain because doctors had limited methods for making patients unconscious or reducing their awareness of pain.

The development of anaesthesia began to change this situation. Ether had been used in surgery, and news of its use reached Scotland in 1846. Simpson began testing ether in obstetrics.

According to the University of Edinburgh, Simpson used ether during a complicated labour on January 19, 1847. He found that ether could help, but he continued looking for another anaesthetic.

In 1847, a Scottish obstetrician showed the world the use of chloroform

In 1847, Simpson and his assistants George Keith and James Matthews Duncan began testing other substances for their anaesthetic effects.

The experiments took place at Simpson's home in Edinburgh. On November 4, 1847, they tested chloroform. The substance had not been their first choice, but the experiment produced a clear effect.

They inhaled chloroform and lost consciousness. After recovering, Simpson believed that he had found a substance that could be used as an anaesthetic. He repeated the experiments before beginning medical use.

Simpson used chloroform in childbirth on November 8, 1847. He then described its use in a publication called Account of a New Anaesthetic Agent. His work helped spread information about chloroform among doctors.

The key point is that Simpson did not invent chloroform itself. His contribution was demonstrating its anaesthetic properties in humans and promoting its medical use.

The University of Edinburgh describes Simpson as the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform in humans. He introduced it into obstetric and surgical practice at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Why was chloroform important?

Before anaesthesia became part of medical practice, patients could remain conscious during painful procedures. Doctors had to work while patients experienced pain and movement.

Anaesthesia changed this process. It allowed doctors to perform procedures while patients were unconscious or had reduced awareness of pain.

For obstetrics, Simpson's work focused on the pain experienced during labour. He supported the use of anaesthesia even when childbirth did not involve a surgical procedure. This position created opposition.

Some doctors did not agree with using chloroform during ordinary childbirth. Some religious figures also objected. They believed that pain during childbirth was part of the natural process.

Simpson continued to support pain relief. His position helped create discussion about whether women should have access to anaesthesia during labour.

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh records that Simpson faced opposition from parts of the medical profession and clergy but continued to advocate the use of chloroform in childbirth.

Queen Victoria helped increase its acceptance

A major moment came in 1853. Queen Victoria used chloroform during the birth of Prince Leopold. The event gave public recognition to the use of chloroform for childbirth.

The University of Edinburgh describes the Queen's use of chloroform in 1853 as a point of approval for the practice.

Simpson had already become physician to the Queen in Scotland in 1847. His work with anaesthesia brought him attention in Britain and abroad.

Chloroform then became widely used for surgery and childbirth. It remained in medical use into the twentieth century before being replaced by other anaesthetic substances that doctors considered safer and less toxic.

What other medical work did Simpson do?

Simpson's medical work was not limited to chloroform. He worked on obstetric instruments and methods. He developed the long obstetric forceps associated with his name. These instruments were designed to assist doctors during childbirth.

He also introduced iron wire sutures and developed acupressure as a method for controlling bleeding.

In 1858, Simpson described acupressure as a method of controlling blood loss during surgical operations. He later published a book about the method in 1864.

Simpson also wrote about medical history, fetal pathology and other subjects. His writings included work on leprosy in Scotland.

He was also concerned about hospital conditions. He studied the relationship between hospital design, overcrowding, ventilation and deaths after surgery. He used the term "hospitalism" when discussing problems linked to hospital conditions.

How did the discovery help the world?

The use of chloroform gave doctors another method for reducing pain and consciousness during medical procedures.

Its use in obstetrics meant that women could receive pain relief during labour. Its use in surgery allowed doctors to carry out procedures without patients remaining fully conscious throughout the operation.

The wider development of anaesthesia also changed surgical practice. Doctors could consider procedures that would have been difficult to perform when patients could feel pain and move during surgery.

The University of Edinburgh states that the ability to anaesthetise patients changed surgery during the 19th century.

Chloroform later became associated with safety concerns and was gradually replaced by other agents. Its medical history therefore includes both its role in the development of anaesthesia and the later recognition of its risks.

A career beyond chloroform

Simpson became one of the leading medical figures in Edinburgh. He was appointed physician to the Queen in Scotland in 1847. In 1850, he became president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and physician at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. He became a baronet in 1866.

His contribution to medicine also included support for changes in medical education and women's access to medicine. In 1869, he supported Sophia Jex-Blake's efforts to attend medical classes at the University of Edinburgh. Simpson died in London on May 6, 1870, at the age of 58.

His connection with the University of Edinburgh is still marked by a plaque at Teviot Place on the east wall of the entrance to the Medical School Building. The plaque identifies him as a pioneer of anaesthetics and Professor of Midwifery.

Why Sir James Young Simpson remains part of medical history?

The story of Sir James Young Simpson is linked to a change in how doctors understood pain during childbirth and surgery. He did not create chloroform. Instead, he demonstrated its anaesthetic properties in humans and promoted its use in medical practice.

His experiments in Edinburgh in 1847 led to the use of chloroform in childbirth and surgery. His support for pain relief during labour also challenged medical and religious opposition. The later use of chloroform by Queen Victoria in 1853 gave the practice public recognition.

Chloroform was eventually replaced by other anaesthetic agents because of safety concerns. However, Simpson's work remained part of the history of anaesthesia.

His career also included obstetric instruments, sutures, acupressure, medical writing and hospital reform. His work shows how the development of anaesthesia became part of a wider change in 19th-century medicine.