1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey guys, the show's currently on break until 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: the new year, but we've got plenty of classic episodes 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: to tide you over. Enjoy this trip through the show's 5 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: own history, and I'll see you back here on January 6 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: second with a batch of brand new episodes. See you 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: in the new year. Welcome to This Day in History 8 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: Class from how Stuff Works dot com and from the 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. It's the 10 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: show where we explore the past one day at a 11 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: time with a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Christopher Haciotas, sitting in 13 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: this week for your regular host Tracy V. Wilson. It's 14 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: December eleven, and in one of the most pivotal moments 15 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: of the French Revolution, King Louis the sixteenth was indicted 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: for high treason and crimes on this day in sevent 17 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: The man who had become France's final king before the 18 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,959 Speaker 1: French Revolution, was born August fifty four as Louis aug 19 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: He was his parents seventh pregnancy, but the first child 20 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: to survive to adulthood. Louis Auguste was born during the 21 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: reign of his grandfather Louis, who was also known as 22 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: Louis the Beloved and ruled France for nearly six decades. 23 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: Now Louis the fifteenth, Louis the sixteenth predecessor died of 24 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: smallpox in May of seventeen seventy four. Normally, Louis August's 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: father would have assumed the throne, but he had died 26 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: of tuberculosis nine years earlier, so in seventeen seventy four, 27 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: Louis August became Louis the sixteenth King of France. I 28 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: know it's a lot of Louis Louise, but we can 29 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: keep track. Now. Louis the sixteenth was nineteen years old 30 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: at the time, and he was already married to Murray 31 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: Antoinette of Austria. They had been married for about four 32 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: years at that point. Louis the sixteenth we'll just call 33 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: him Louis from now on. Louis started his reign with 34 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: an eye towards values that came out of the era 35 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: of Enlightenment. Greater freedom of the press, religious tolerance, and 36 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: scientific inquiry, among other endeavors, eliminating certain land taxes, increasing 37 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: acceptance of non Catholic Christians, abolishing serfdom, supporting them revolution, 38 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: and even deregulating grain markets. These were all undertaken by Louis. 39 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: Some were resisted and shot down by nobility, while other 40 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: reforms were successful. It says last two though, that would 41 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: prove to be pivotal. Deregulation of grain markets in France 42 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: led to wild fluctuations in price. The common people struggle 43 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: to afford bread or even the grain to make their own, 44 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,839 Speaker 1: and a number of riots broke out in seventeen seventy five. 45 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: That was a series of events often called the Bread 46 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: War in supporting the American Revolution. The following year put 47 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: France into serious debt, and the ensuing financial crisis was 48 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 1: compounded by a byzantine system of taxation. The next decade 49 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: saw an erosion of the monarchy's credibility, and people came 50 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: to view Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette as figures 51 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: of not just an outdated system of governance, but one 52 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: ignorant to the plight of the common people. Violence, civil unrest, 53 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: and political turmoil became more prevalent, and Louis became increasingly 54 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: irrelevant when it came to actual governance and gained a 55 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: reputation for being indecisive, unskilled at political maneuvering, and just 56 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,079 Speaker 1: generally being out of touch with the realities of the 57 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: day and the need for policy compromise. So in July fourteenth, 58 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: seventeen eighty nine, a group of revolutionaries stormed the Bastial, 59 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: which was a political prison in Paris. Though it only 60 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: held seven prisoners at the time, the Bastial was viewed 61 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: as symbolic of the monarchy's rule. Now here's a side note. 62 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: You may hear that Louise journal for that day, July 63 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: four seventeen eighty nine, held only a single word nothing, 64 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: which a lot of people say signifies how out of 65 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: touch he was. That journal was actually just a hunting 66 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: journal or a hunting log, so it's not really indicative 67 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: of where Louis head was at. And anyway, at the time, 68 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: Louis was at the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris, 69 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: and he only learned of the storming of the Bastial 70 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: the following morning. So, following these events, Louis was forced 71 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: to accept the dissolution of the monarchy as it existed, 72 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: and a constitutional monarchy was established. But after a failed 73 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: assassination attempt on Marie Antoinette, Louis and his family relocated 74 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: from Versailles outside of the city to the Tuilerie Palace, 75 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: which is right in the heart of the city, and 76 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: the intent there was to be closer to the people. 77 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: Now in seventeen ninety one, Louis tried to secretly flee 78 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: the city in response to what he considered indignities and 79 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: restraints placed upon him and his family by the constitutional government. 80 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: He was being treated he felt away a monarch should 81 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: never be treated. On his way out of town, though, 82 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: Louis left behind a political manifesto which outlined his dissatisfaction 83 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: with the constitutional system. He considered it illegitimate. This manifesto 84 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: was published in newspapers, though, making his true feelings public, 85 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: and just four days after leaving Paris, Louis and his 86 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: family were identified. He was recognized because his face was 87 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: on the national currency, and he was arrested and returned 88 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: to Paris. At this point, Louis lost all credibility even 89 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:40,840 Speaker 1: with those who had stood by him, and he was 90 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: viewed as more loyal to foreign governments rather than to 91 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: his own people. Later that summer, on August tenth of 92 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety two, the people of Paris had had enough. 93 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: A group marched on the Tuileries Palace, and the royal 94 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:57,359 Speaker 1: family again fled, taking shelter with the Legislative Assembly. Louis 95 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: the sixteenth was found and arrested a few days later 96 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: and eventually taken to the Parisian prison known as the Temple. 97 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: While he was in prison there, the government officially abolished 98 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: the constitutional monarchy, declared a republic, and stripped Louis of 99 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: all his titles and honors. So for the last few 100 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: months of his life, Louis the sixteenth was known as 101 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: Citizen Louis Cape. That's the name that would have been 102 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: his ancestral surname, Citizen Louis Cape. His trial before the 103 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: National Convention began on December three, more than a week 104 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,239 Speaker 1: after the trial started, bringing us to today, den Louis 105 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: was brought out of the Temple and before the Assembly 106 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: formally indicted. Now there were thirty three charges in total. 107 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: These ranged from ordering the army to march on the 108 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: citizens of Paris, to attempting to flee the city, and 109 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: from ignoring counter revolutions to defanging the navy and ignoring 110 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: foreign threats. Particularly from Austria, where Marie Antoinette was from 111 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: the final of these thirty three charges, you caused the 112 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: blood of Frenchmen to flow. Louis, through his defense team, 113 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: responded to his individual charges on December, generally demanding proof, 114 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: claiming he wasn't involved in certain decisions, saying he knew 115 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: nothing of the claims, or to borrow more contemporary political phrase, 116 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: passing the buck to his ministers and their decisions. Louise 117 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,679 Speaker 1: lawyer Raymonde Says argued the former king's case for three 118 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: hours straight that day, and it wasn't until three weeks 119 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: later that Louis the sixteenth was convicted overwhelmingly of colluding 120 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: with foreign powers. Now seven and twenty one voters were 121 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 1: tasked with choosing his punishment. There were four options, including life, imprisonment, 122 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: or banishment from France, but on January three d and 123 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: sixty one of the voters exactly plus one vote sentenced 124 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: Louis to death, and on the very next day, citizen 125 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: Louis Cape was executed by guillotine. The beheading took place 126 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: in the Place de la revolution, an open square where 127 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: the revolutionary government conducted the majority of its public executions. 128 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: It's the same spot where Robespierre, Olympe de Gouge, and 129 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette, who followed her husband the guillotine eight months later, 130 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: were executed. The plaza went through a series of name 131 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: changes and took the names of both Louis the fifteen 132 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: and Louis Sixte, but in eighty returned to its original 133 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: name of Place de la Concorde. Today, located along the 134 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: banks of the Sin, you'll find the Place de la 135 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: Concord full of obelisks and fountains. To learn more about this, 136 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: listen to the November nine, two thousand eight episode of 137 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,559 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class called How the French 138 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: Revolution Worked, or scroll back on your podcast and find 139 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: the November tewond episode of this very podcast, which is 140 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: the day Marie Antoinette was born. Thanks to Casey Pegruman 141 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for their audio work on this show, you 142 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: can subscribe to This Day in History Class on Apple Podcasts, 143 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, or wherever else you like 144 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: to find your podcasts, and uh, stick around because tomorrow 145 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: we're going to learn about a disastrous explosion. Hi everyone, 146 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: I'm Eves and you're listening to This Day in History 147 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: Class A podcast where we build the time machine and 148 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: all you have to do is hop in the day 149 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: was December eleventh, nineteen, a group of robbers stole five 150 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: million dollars in cash and around a million dollars in 151 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: jewelry from the air cargo building of the Luftonza Airline 152 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Most 153 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: of the people involved in the heist participated in organized crime, 154 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: and the event has since been depicted in books and films, 155 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: including Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Luftonza cargo workers Louis Werner and 156 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: Peter Gruenwald knew that about once a month, Luftonza fluent 157 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: large amounts of unmarked money that was exchanged in West 158 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: Germany by tourists and military service people. Sometimes that cash 159 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: wasn't transferred to banks until the next day, when trucks 160 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: would pick it up to transport it. Werner and Gruenwald 161 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: figured that that was the perfect opportunity to steal the cash. 162 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: But Werner had a bunch of gambling debt, and he 163 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: told bookmaker Martin Krugman about the heist plan. Krugman, in turn, 164 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: took the idea to the Luchesi crime family mobster Henry Hill, 165 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: and word soon made it to gangster James Burke, also 166 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,560 Speaker 1: known as Jimmy the gent Burke, Hill and Warner then 167 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: went about planning the heist, using information like maps, reports 168 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: of employees who would be present, and details of the 169 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: security measures that were in place in the building. Around 170 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: three am on December eleven, a group of armed men 171 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: and a black fan pulled up to the cargo holds 172 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: loading platform. Several of the men entered the building while 173 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 1: the van was driven to the back of the site. 174 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: They were strained the employees and ordered a supervisor to 175 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: open the vault so the alarm would not trigger. They 176 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: loaded the money and jewelry into the van and drove away, 177 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: later transferring their hall to other vehicles. The robbery took 178 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: just over an hour. At the time, it was the 179 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: largest cash theft ever in the US. The van driver, 180 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,839 Speaker 1: Parnell Edwards, was supposed to take the van to a 181 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: junkyard that the mob controlled, but he parked it illegally 182 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: on the street in Brooklyn instead. The van was soon discovered, 183 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: along with edwards fingerprints and footprint. Not long after, Edwards 184 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: was murdered, and within months, several other people suspected of 185 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: committing the crime were murdered or disappeared. Hill went into 186 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: the witness protection program and in nineteen eighty he began 187 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: testifying against the people involved in the robbery. Other informants 188 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: in the case also entered the witness protection program. Investigators 189 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: suspected James Burke of orchestrating the heist, but there wasn't 190 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 1: enough evidence to connect Burke to the heist or murders. 191 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,359 Speaker 1: He died in prison in nineteen after he was incarcerated 192 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: for other rhimes. The only person ever convicted of the 193 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: robbery was Louis Werner. Vincent a Sorrow, part of the 194 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: Bonano crime family, was arrested on robbery charges related to 195 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: the heist in but he was acquitted the next year. 196 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: Only a portion of the stolen money was recovered, worth 197 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: around six million dollars in ninety eight. The hall would 198 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: be worth twenty four million dollars in nineteen. I'm Eve 199 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: Chef Code and hopefully you know a little more about 200 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you haven't gotten 201 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: your fill of history yet, you can find us on Twitter, 202 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at t D i h C podcast. 203 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: You can also email us at this Day at I 204 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thank you again for listening and 205 00:11:51,520 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: we'll see you tomorrow. Hello, and welcome to This Day 206 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that breathes in history one 207 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: day at a time. I'm Gabe Lousier and in this 208 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: episode we're talking about the first dentist to ever give 209 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: his patients the giggles and why for him it later 210 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: became no laughing matter. The day was December eighty four. 211 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: A twenty nine year old dentist named Horace Wells pioneered 212 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: the use of nitrous oxide and dental procedures by testing 213 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: the gas on himself. At the time, anesthesia did not 214 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 1: yet exist, meaning that every person in need of a 215 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: dental or surgical operation had to decide which was worse 216 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: the pain from the ailment or the pain of the treatment. 217 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: Wells recognized the potential use of nitrous oxide for pain relief, 218 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: and to confirm his theory, he decided to try it himself. 219 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: As for nitrous oxide, it was first synthesized in seventeen 220 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: seventy five by English chemist Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen. However, 221 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: priestly was just excited to have discovered an interesting new gas. 222 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: He didn't bother experimenting with its inhalation or with trying 223 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: to find a practical use for it. That task was 224 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: taken up about twenty years later by another English chemist 225 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: named Sir Humphrey Davy. He observed both the analgesic and 226 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: euphoric effects of nitrous oxide, and in eighteen hundred he 227 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: suggested the gas could be used in surgical operations as 228 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: a way to deaden pain. You might expect that Davy's 229 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: solution to the problem of pain would have been greeted 230 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: with open arms, but it wasn't. Because pain couldn't be eliminated, 231 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: Humans tried to make themselves feel better by ascribing meaning 232 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,400 Speaker 1: to their suffering. Many societies taught that pain was a 233 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: deserved punishment for the sins of man, and that to 234 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: find a way around that was to subvert the will 235 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: of God. As a result, much of the world was 236 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: hesitant to utilize any kind of anesthesia, and Davy's theory 237 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: about nitrous oxide would go untested for another forty years. 238 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: The medical use of nitrous oxide may have been off 239 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: the table, but the world was quick to find another 240 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: use for it as an inhalent for getting high. The 241 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: euphoria that resulted from inhaling nitrous oxide led to a 242 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: new pastime in the early eighteen hundreds. People would host 243 00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: parties or attend live demonstrations where volunteers would hail the 244 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: gas and then stumble around on stage, giggling and acting silly. 245 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: These loopy antics earned it the on the nose nickname 246 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: of laughing Gas. On the evening of December tenth, forty four, 247 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: dentist Horace Wells and his wife Elizabeth attended one such 248 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: demonstration at Union Hall in their hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. 249 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: They had heard about the show through an advertisement in 250 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: the Hartford Times, which described the Laughing Gas entertainment as 251 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: a chance to see participants quote, laugh, sing, dance, speak, 252 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: or fight according to the leading trait of their character. 253 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: During the demonstration, Wells noticed that one of the gas 254 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: stup participants had injured his leg when he ran into 255 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: a wooden bench, but didn't seem to notice. In fact, 256 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: he literally laughed it off, leading Wells to wonder if 257 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: nitrous oxide could be used to relieve pain during dental procedures. 258 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: After the show, he made arrangements with the events organizer 259 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: Gardner Colton to conduct a trial with the gas at 260 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: his office. The very next morning, Wells enlisted one of 261 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: his former students to extract an impacted Mohler while Wells 262 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,800 Speaker 1: was under the effects of nitrous ox side. Once the 263 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: gas wore off, Wells claimed he had felt no more 264 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: pain than quote the prick of a pin. The first 265 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: use of medical anesthesia had proven a success, and Wells 266 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: soon began using the gas on his own patients. It 267 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: was the start of what he called a new era 268 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: in tooth pulling. Several weeks later, after a dozen or 269 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: so successful uses of the gas, Wells decided to demonstrate 270 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: its analgesic effects in the major city of Boston. Once there, 271 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: he contacted William T. Morton, another of his former dental students. 272 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 1: Morton introduced Wells to prominent physicians and dentists in the 273 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: area and helped set up a demonstration for them, as 274 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,959 Speaker 1: well as for the faculty and students of Harvard's Medical School. 275 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: On the day of the event, a medical student volunteered 276 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: to have a tooth extracted under nitrous ock side, but 277 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: as Wells did the deed, the patient groaned and then 278 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: cried out as if in pain. Hours later, the student 279 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: explained his reaction as a case of nerves, saying that 280 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,840 Speaker 1: he hadn't felt a thing and was actually unaware of 281 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 1: when the extraction occurred. Unfortunately, the clarification came too late. 282 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: Wells had been booed by the audience, with most of 283 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: the observers labeling the demonstration of failure and Wells of fraud. 284 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: The most important day of his career had turned into 285 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: a disaster, and a disheartened Wells returned to Hartford the 286 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: very next day. The incident marked the beginning of a 287 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: devastate downward spiral for Wells. In the following months, he 288 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,640 Speaker 1: sank into a deep depression, closed his practice, and gave 289 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: up dentistry. Desperate to clear his good name, he started 290 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: experimenting on himself, not only with nitro sock side, but 291 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: with ether and chloroform as well. Today, it's believed that 292 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: Wells became addicted to these substances as a way of 293 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: coping with his mental and emotional pain. That trauma was 294 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,959 Speaker 1: worsened in October of eighteen forty six when William T. Morton, 295 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: the former student who had helped him organize the event 296 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: in Boston demonstrated how ether could be used as an 297 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:45,000 Speaker 1: anesthetic for surgery. That betrayal led to a lengthy dispute 298 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: over who deserved credit for the discovery of anesthesia. Wells 299 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: fought his former students claim in the press, but the 300 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: controversy took a toll on his already fragile mental state. 301 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: By early eighteen forty eight, Horace well was living alone 302 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: in New York City, estranged from his wife and son, 303 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: and slipping deeper into opioid addiction. On his thirty third birthday, 304 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 1: likely out of his mind on chloroform, Wells through sulfuric 305 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: acid into the faces of two women he had met 306 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: on the street. He was arrested and imprisoned that night, 307 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: but he managed to smuggle a bottle of chloroform and 308 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: a straight razor into his cell. That evening, the wrongly 309 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: disgraced dentist took his own life. Almost twenty years later, 310 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: the long running debate was finally put to rest when 311 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: the American Dental Association recognized Horace Wells as the discoverer 312 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: of anesthesia. Six years later, the American Medical Association followed suit, 313 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: declaring Wells the father of surgical anesthesia. By that time, 314 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: nitrous oxide was in wide use as a general anesthetic 315 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: that continue it until the early nineteen hundreds, when it 316 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: was supplanted by novacane and eventually by light acane. These 317 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,919 Speaker 1: forms of local anesthesia were much easier to use and 318 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: produced more reliable results than nitrous ox. Side still, the 319 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: gas made a comeback in the nineteen sixties as a 320 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: way to sedate conscious patients and ease their anxiety. This 321 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: use as a sedative rather than an anesthetic, has continued 322 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: ever since. Horace Wells dream of pain free medicine became 323 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: a reality for millions of people worldwide, but for him 324 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 1: it was the cause of an even deeper pain, the 325 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:44,199 Speaker 1: kind that no liquid gas or pill can ever truly relieve. 326 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,720 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Blusier and hopefully you now know a little 327 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 328 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 1: have a second and you're so inclined, consider following us 329 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d h C Show. 330 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 1: You can also get in touch with us directly by 331 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: writing to this day at I heart media dot com. 332 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,120 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank 333 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 334 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: for another day in history class. For more podcasts from 335 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 336 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.