Joseph Thomas Clover
Pioneering Anaesthetist
Died when: 57 years 211 days (690 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Joseph Thomas Clover (28 February 1825; baptised 7 May 1825 – 27 September 1882) was an English doctor and pioneer of anaesthesia.He invented a variety of pieces of apparatus to deliver anaesthetics including ether and chloroform safely and controllably.
By 1871 he had administered anaesthetics 13,000 times without a fatality.Clover assisted at surgery of public figures including Napoleon III, Princess Alexandra of Denmark and her husband King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales), Sir Robert Peel, and Florence Nightingale.
His inventions included the bulky 'Clover's chloroform apparatus' (1862), with which he was often photographed; and the compact 'Clover's portable regulating ether inhaler' (1877), which remained in use well into the 20th century.
With fellow pioneer John Snow, Clover is one of the supporters on the crest of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.