William Thomas Green Morton became the first medical practitioner to publicly demonstrate the use of inhaled ether before rapt onlookers in a crowded operating theater of Massachusetts General Hospital. But the truth was the soporific had been employed informally and discussed in medical circles for years. Most notably, Dr. As more physicians and medical institutions began to use inhaled ether, Morton retaliated by launching a spate of lawsuits claiming patent infringement. That Morton failed to prevail in even a single case stands as a win for the medical profession and patients forevermore.