Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage survives an iron rod in diameter being driven through his brain; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate discussion of the nature of the brain and its functions.

Phineas P. Gage (1823–1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable[B1] survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life‍—‌effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him as "no longer Gage".

Phineas Gage Cased Daguerreotype WilgusPhoto2008-12-19 EnhancedRetouched Color
Phineas Gage Cased Daguerreotype WilgusPhoto2008-12-19 EnhancedRetouched Color (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
CavendishVermont 1869Map Beers AnnotatedPhineasGageLocations cropped
CavendishVermont 1869Map Beers AnnotatedPhineasGageLocations cropped (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
RailroadCutCavendishVermontPresumedToBePhineasGageAccidentSite cropped
RailroadCutCavendishVermontPresumedToBePhineasGageAccidentSite cropped (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
BlastHoleCharged Vertical
BlastHoleCharged Vertical (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Watch: Phineas Gage: The Brain Injury That Shocked the World - Documentary - Psychology

From the Dr Marianne Trent channel.

Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — Phineas Gage (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.