Leo Sher, M.D.

March 30 is a National Doctor’s Day in the United States. A National Doctors’ Day is a designation recognized medicine as a special calling accompanied by challenging academics, many difficult exams and many long hours of studies and work. In February 1991, President George H. W. Bush signed a law designating Doctors’ Day as a National Holiday to be celebrated on March 30. The first National Doctor’s Day was March 30, 1991.

The first ether anesthetic for surgery was administered by Crawford W. Long, M.D. (1815-1878) on March 30, 1842. On that day, before Dr. Long operated to remove a tumor from a man’s neck, he administered ether anesthesia. On March 30, 1842, medicine changed forever. “Doctors’ Day” is celebrated on March 30 every year to commemorate Long’s contributions. In 1879, a year after Dr. Long’s death, the National Eclectic Medical Association pronounced that Dr. Long was the official discoverer of anesthesia. A statue of Dr. Crawford Long stands in the United States Capitol as one of the two designated monuments to represent the State of Georgia in the National Statuary Hall Collection.