Editing 1846 in science (section)

==Medicine==
* October 16 – Dentist [[William T. G. Morton]] becomes the first person ''publicly'' to demonstrate the use of [[diethyl ether]] as a general [[anesthetic]] in what becomes known as the [[Ether Dome]] of [[Massachusetts General Hospital]].<ref>{{cite book|first=W. T. G.|last=Morton|year=1847|title=Remarks on the Proper Mode of Administering Sulphuric Ether by Inhalation|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bookres.fcgi/history/pdf_morton.pdf|location=Boston|publisher=Button and Wentworth|oclc=14825070|accessdate=2010-09-13}}</ref>
* December 21 – [[British people|British]] surgeon [[Robert Liston]] carries out the first operation under anesthesia in Europe.<ref>{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-14-102715-0|year=2006}}</ref>
* [[Édouard Séguin]] publishes ''Traitement moral, hygiène et éducation des idiots et des autres enfants arriérés'' in [[Paris]], the earliest systematic textbook dealing with the [[special needs]] of children with [[developmental disabilities]];<ref>{{cite web|title=Down's syndrome|url=http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/322.html|work=[[Who Named It?|Whonamedit?]]|accessdate=2011-04-13}}</ref> his views will be influential on both sides of the Atlantic.
* Dr [[John Collis Browne|J. Collis Browne]] formulates his [[laudanum]]-based pain-relieving [[Chlorodyne]] compound while serving in the [[British Indian Army]].