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Anaesthetics, first used in America in 1846, were branded in Britain as ‘Yankee humbug’, only suitable for quacks not talented enough to operate quickly. This was until Queen Victoria had an anaesthetic for the delivery of her eighth child in 1853. What was her reaction to the new wonder compound?

1667 – The blind and impoverished John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for a mere £10. More at: History