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399 BCE
399 BCE- Socrates
The philosopher Socrates, charged with religious heresy and corrupting the morals of local youth, dies by hemlock poisoning. -
69 BCE
69 BCE- Cleopatra
Egyptian queen Cleopatra experiments with strychnine and other poisons on prisoners and the poor. -
1135
1135- A treatise on poisons
Jewish philosopher and physician Moses Maimonides writes Treatise on Poisons and Their Antidotes. -
1347
1347- The Black Death
The bubonic and pneumonic plagues ravaged Europe, killing about 25 million people between 1347-1351. This is the largest pandemic in recorded history. Worldwide, it kills about 75 million people. -
1419
1419- A council of murders
The Venetian Council of Ten, a political body, carries out murders with poison for a fee. -
1452
1452- Bioaccumulation experiments
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) experiments with bioaccumulation of poisons in animals and calls the procedure “passages”. -
1493
1493- Toxicity depends on dose
Paracelsus (1493-1541) identifies the specific chemical components of plant and animals that are responsible for their toxic properties. He also shows that varying the amount of the poison affects the severity of the effects. -
1534
1534- Pope poisoned
Pope Clement VII (1478-1534) died (possibly murdered) after eating Amanita phalloides, the death cap mushroom. -
1659- Husbands poisoned
Hieronyma Spara, a Roman woman and fortune-teller, forms a secret organization that sells arsenic potion to women so they could murder their husbands. -
1682- Decree to stop poisonings
King Louis XIV passes a royal decree forbidding citizens from owning or selling arsenic or poisonous substances. -
1702- An account of poisons
Richard Meade writes about poisonous animals and plants. -
1813- Father of toxicology
Considered the father of modern toxicology, Orfila. Writes Traite des Poisons, which describes the symptoms of poisons