Lastly, anesthetics improved during the Industrial Revolution. Anesthesia was discovered in 1772 by Joseph Priestley. The anesthesia Nitrous Oxide was first demonstrated was on October 16, 1846 at Massachusetts General Hospital. The commonly know name for Nitrous Oxide is laughing gas. Before the discovery of anesthetics, doctors used herbs, alcohol, opium, and narcotics. The most commonly used opiate was Morphine. Another powerful anesthetic used was Chloroform. Chloroform is not used as an anesthetic today.