The earliest ether anaesthetic in British North America--a first for Saint John, New Brunswick?

Literature relating the early history of ether anaesthesia in New Brunswick which, as part of British North America was a British colony until 1867, is reviewed. There is documentary evidence that the first ether anaesthetic for dental surgery in what is now Canada, was administered in 1844 in St. John, New Brunswick. There is also documentary evidence that the first ether anaesthetic for general surgery was administered in St. John on Monday, January 18, 1847, rather than in Montreal in March, 1847.