When America’s first president passed away on December 14, 1799, admirers far and wide mourned the death of one of the nation’s founding fathers. Upon arriving at Mount Vernon and gazing upon the deceased president, Dr. William Thornton decided to offer onlookers hope by claiming that he possessed a plan to bring the beloved president back to life as if the viral infection that took his life never occurred. Here is Thornton’s bizarre plot to resurrect President George Washington.
Although the idea of the doctor telling mourners that he could bring Washington back to life may seem crazy today, back then, people took him quite seriously. “He was a figure of the Enlightenment, a Thomas Jefferson-type character who believed that science and reason could solve almost every problem,” historical author Jonathan Horn explained.
Born in the West Indies in 1759, Thornton attended medical school in Scotland before arriving in the United States. He rigorously studied sleep and recorded dozens of cases where animals and people in states of suspended animation were revived after appearing to be dead. As a result, when he saw Washington’s body, it reminded him of a case he read about a fish being brought back to life.
He suggested he would reopen Washington’s lungs, promising to “inflate them with air, to produce an artificial respiration.” What’s more, he would transfuse Washington with lamb’s blood. Ultimately, no one else at Mount Vernon shared Thornton’s hopes, and instead, Washington was laid to rest for good.