Ether was first used by

Ether was used for frivolous purposes ("ether frolics"), but not as an anesthetic agent in humans until 1842, when Crawford W. Long and William E. Clark independently used it on patients for surgery and dental extraction, respectively. However, neither Long nor Clark publicized his discovery. Four years later, in Boston, on October 16, 1846, William T.G. Moon conducted the first publicized demonstration of general anesthesia for surgical operation using ether. The dramatic success of that exhibition led the operating surgeon to exclaim to a skeptical audience: "Gentlemen, this is no humbug!" Joseph Priestley produced nitrous oxide in 1772, and Humphry Davy first noted its analgesic propeies in 1800. Gardner Colton and Horace Wells are credited with having first used nitrous oxide as an anesthetic for dental extractions in humans in 1844. Ref: Miller's anesthesia 8th edition Ref: Morgan & Mikhail's clinical anesthesiology 6e