When was ether first used ? Bonus points for what the first surgery was for.

Public Demonstration
According to: http://neurosurgery.mgh.harvard.edu/History/gift.htm

"One hundred fifty years ago, in the operating theater on the top floor of the MGH’s Bulfinch Building, one of the greatest moments in medicine occurred. On Oct. 16, 1846, William T.G. Morton, a Boston dentist, demonstrated the use of ether during surgery, ending the indescribable pain — and the overwhelming dread — that had been associated with the surgeon’s knife.

Using a specially designed glass inhaler containing an ether-soaked sponge, Morton administered the anesthetic to Gilbert Abbott, a printer who had come to the MGH for treatment of a vascular tumor on his jaw. After several minutes, Abbott was rendered unconscious. John Collins Warren, MD, one of the most widely recognized surgeons of that time, then surgically removed the tumor. Upon wakening, Abbott informed the curious and skeptical physicians and medical students in the theater that he had experienced no pain."


Private Practice
According to: http://www.anes.uab.edu/nov.htm

"1846 November 12: First surgery in private practice under ether anesthesia in Boston takes place. J. Mason Warren, son of John Collins Warren, is the surgeon."

I came up with this interesting site on the discovery of ether (sweet vitriol).

http://www.anesthesia-nursing.com/ether.html