Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) experiencing, with members of the Clifton Pneumatic Institute, the euphoric effects of inhaling nitrous oxide to which Davy gave the name 'laughing gas'. He was head of the laboratory of the Institute which had been established to study the medical effects of recently discovered gases. Davy described the delirium induced as being characterised by extraordinary gaiety, significant enhancement of the intellectual faculties and an anaesthetic effect. His 1799 account of his experiments noted that nitrous oxide was 'capable of destroying physical pain.and may possibly be used in surgical operations' but public suspicion of pneumatic chemistry and the opposition of the medical profession (pain being an important part of surgery) stopped the development of anaesthesia until 1844, and Davy moved on to his pioneering work in electrochemistry.