“Samurai Bill,” The Third Bigelow
A.J. Wright2005
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Abstract
Introduction Hidden behind Jacob Bigelow's imposing mausoleum at Mt. Auburn cemetery stands a small tablet engraved "William SB (1850-1926)." The humble marker covers the ashes of William Sturgis Bigelow, the only child of Henry J. Bigelow, and the last of the line (figure 1). William Bigelow gave up medicine after two years of surgery and only made minor contributions to anesthesia: his biography of his father pointed out the latter's decisive role in the adoption of ether in surgery, and as Harvard trustee he saw to it that ether anesthesia was used in all surgical operations and animal experiments. But his colorful life and his contributions to the arts deserve to be remembered. Early Years (1850-1871) William S. Bigelow, the only son of Henry J. and Susan Bigelow, was born on April 4, 1850, at 5 Chauncey Place, in the heart of old Boston. His mother was the eldest daughter of William Sturgis, a Salem captain who had amassed an enormous fortune in whaling and in the China trade. Susan Bigelow committed suicide when William was three, and doting aunts and grandmothers, all Mayflower descendants, raised him in the best upper class, or "Boston Brahmin" traditions. Like his father, William attended the Dixwell's Latin School. Two of his schoolmates were Henry Cabot Lodge, the future senator, and Frederick Cheever Shattuck, later Harvard physician and medical librarian. Both became lifelong friends. Bigelow ranked in the middle of his class 2 2 2 2 BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY
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PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SJIF Impact Factor: 7.187 THE HISTORY OF ANAESTHESIA
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