In recently seeing the John Moulton statue celebrating the first use of ether in Boston:
it occurred that this sort of research usually doesn't happen in a vacuum. Were there other medical colleges, or researchers, trying to work out ways to provide some relief during operations? While in Boston it may be that this was the only place trying to look at ether as a way of relief there must have been others doing similar research or something before it.
Are there any texts that note medical "discoveries" like this. And I use discoveries in quotes since many were just using existing treatments in new ways, though if ether was one I don't know.