form y separately published work icon Dishonour Be My Destiny single work   radio play  
Issue Details: First known date: 1940... 1940 Dishonour Be My Destiny
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A radio play based on the life of William T.G. Morton, an American physician responsible for the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on 16 October 1846. Morton subsequently attempted to patent ether, and spent much of his life trying to establish himself as its discoverer.

Contemporary newspapers indicate that Dunn took a romantic approach to the story:

By the city of Boston, Massachussets, in the cemetery of Mt. Auburn, there is a monument of white marble inscribed to William Thomas Morton, 'Inventor and Revealer of Anaesthetic Inhalation, by whom pain in surgery was averted and annulled; before whom in all time surgery was agony; since whom science has control of Pain.' 'Dishonour Be My Destiny' gives the story of the man who achieved one of the greatest victories the long history of medicine has known, but whose victory was changed to crushing defeat by the selfishness and ingratitude of man.

Source:

'Dishonour Be My Destiny', Northern Champion, 16 November 1940, p.2.

Notes

  • Some contemporary newspapers mistakenly present this title as Dishonour by Destiny.

Production Details

  • First broadcast on 30 June 1940, as part of the ABC Competition Plays series.

    Later broadcast in a 'reduced and improved' version in November 1940.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • c
      Australia,
      c
      :
      Australian Broadcasting Commission ,
      1940 .
      Series: form y separately published work icon ABC Competition Plays Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1940 8879521 1940 series - publisher radio play

      The umbrella term under which all plays that took part in the ABC Play Competition for 1940 were broadcast. Plays were clearly marked as part of this series, and were numbered for broadcast, enabling listeners to vote on them. All radio plays submitted to the ABC between 1 January and 30 April 1940 were eligible, and listeners awarded marks to each play after they were produced and broadcast. The top three plays were eligible for cash bonuses, but the ABC paid the usual commission rates for all plays that it produced as part of the series. Seventeen plays were produced, although some sources suggest as many as 333 additional plays were received.

      Source:

      'A.B.C. Play Competition', Courier-Mail, 5 February 1940, p.14.

      Number in series: 6
Last amended 13 Jan 2016 14:57:49
Settings:
  • c
    United States of America (USA),
    c
    Americas,
  • 1840s
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