Chloroform anesthesia and the Saville Kent murder in 1860.

The discovery of the anesthetic properties of chloroform by Sir James Simpson is one of the therapeutic triumphs of the 19th century. Queen Victoria requested chloroform anesthesia for the birth of her second son, Prince Leopold, and from then until the end of century chloroform was the most popular general anesthetic for obstetrics and surgery. Chloroform was so pleasant to inhale that it became a drug of abuse and was involved in all sorts of criminal activity.