Episode 1 of 3
Accident at Cavendish
- When
- 13 September 1848
- Where
- South of the village of Cavendish, Vermont
Gage was directing a work gang blasting rock for the Rutland & Burlington Railroad when an iron rod was driven through his head.
On September 13, 1848, Gage was directing a work gang blasting rock while preparing the roadbed for the Rutland & Burlington Railroad south of the village of Cavendish, Vermont. He had commissioned a custom-made tamping iron for use in setting explosive charges. The rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, as described in the general account of the case.
Sources
- Phineas Gage Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.