A Doctor Friend of George Washington Proposed a Bizarre Way to Resurrect Him Soon After He Died
America's first President could have been brought back to life, claimed a physician of that time. President George Washington's last few days on Earth were spent in such discomfort that he requested his family to not allow anything to happen to his body after death, HISTORY reported.
Hence, when Dr. William Thornton proposed resurrecting the President by applying some measures to his body, the answer was a clear no. Despite being not able to try out his method, Thornton went on his entire life claiming with confidence, that he could have saved the life of his friend and benefactor.
Washington breathed his last on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, after contracting an infection just two days before, Mount Vernon reported. Experts now believe it to be the case of acute epiglottitis, a virulent throat infection.
Understanding his condition, Washington instructed his secretary, Tobias Lear to not allow anyone to place his body into a tomb for three days, after his death. This was allegedly because of the rampant fear during those times, that a human could be confused for being dead during comatose, and buried alive.
Thornton was a celebrated physician and designer at that time, Mount Vernon reported. He had been educated in the best medical schools in Europe and also had a hand in creating some of the best homes in the DC area.
While Washington was fighting against the infection, one of the President's well-wishers contacted Thornton to come help with the treatment. On being informed of all the details, Thornton had the perfect procedure in mind to aid the president. He planned to perform a tracheotomy on Washington and relieve him of the infection. But, when the physician reached Mount Vernon, he was welcomed with the president's dead body.
Thornton was beside himself on seeing the president lying lifeless on the bed, Mount Vernon reported. "My feelings at that moment I cannot express! I was overwhelmed with the loss of the best friend I had on Earth," he exclaimed. As requested by Washington, the president's body was to lay untouched for three days, before being buried in the ground.
Thornton proposed making another effort during those days to save Washington, HISTORY reported. He believed that a series of steps could bring life again into the cold body of the first president of America.
The physician suggested that the body be thawed into cold water and layered with blankets to increase warmth and temperature. He believed that the overall output of these methodologies would activate the blood vessels and open a passage to the lungs by the trachea. This will fill the lungs with air, and facilitate artificial respiration, according to Thornton. On the question of the body being without blood for so long, the expert suggested that they could perform a blood transfusion.
Thornton allegedly had the idea of resurrecting the President back to life from recorded cases of fish going through similar phenomenons and getting resurrected, HISTORY reported.
Jonathan Horn, author of Washington’s End: The Final Years and Forgotten Struggle claimed that Thornton had his logic rooted in Science. "He looks at it not from a religious angle, but a science angle and sees the processes that killed Washington and thinks he can reverse them," the author explained.
Thornton's ambitious proposal was rejected, Mount Vernon reported. "I was not seconded in this proposal; for it was deemed unavailing," he claimed. Considering how much pain Washington was in his last moments, his family wanted to follow his wishes of being left undisturbed. He had allegedly communicated to his loved ones on his deathbed, "I pray you to take no more trouble about me, let me go off quietly." Thornton though believed his entire life that his method could have given the president a few more days on Earth.