Toxicology

Toxicology Timeline

By THUGNIFICENT
  • 399 BCE

    Socrates

    Socrates
    Socrates is charged with religious heresy and is executed via hemlock poisoning.
  • Jan 1, 1493

    Paracelsus

    Paracelsus
    "All substances are poisons. There is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy."

  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila
    Publication of his book "Traite des Poisons," which described the symptoms of poisons.

  • Robert Christison

    Robert Christison
    Wrote "Treatise on Poisons" in 1829 and invented a poisonous harpoon for whale hunting.

  • Creation of the FDA

    Creation of the FDA
    As a result of the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, the Food and Drug Administration was created, meant to regulate these markets and their products.

  • Hawk's Nest Incident

    Hawk's Nest Incident
    Hundreds of African-American workers died from acute silicosis while digging a tunnel for a hydroelectric project for Union Carbide. Workers mined silica and were not given the proper masks or breathing equipment, despite management wearing such equipment during their inspections. The exposure to silica dust led to many workers developing silicosis, killing them as quickly as within a year.

  • LSD

    LSD
    In 1938 scientist Albert Hofmann synthesized Lysergic acid (LSD) in modern-day Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Sandoz Laboratory. In 1943, Hofmann tested LSD on himself.

  • First Poison Control Center

    First Poison Control Center
    The first Poison Control Center opened in Chicago in 1953, with the second one opening a year later at Duke University, North Carolina.

  • International Union of Toxicology

    International Union of Toxicology
    The International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX) was founded in Brussels, Belgium. IUTOX's mission is "to foster international scientific cooperation among toxicologists, promote the global acquisition, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge in the world of science of toxicology, and ensure the continued training and development of toxicologists worldwide."

  • Tylenol Murders

    Tylenol Murders
    In September of 1982, 7 people from the Chicago area died after taking Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide, the result of product tampering.

  • The "Tylenol Bill"

    The "Tylenol Bill"
    A few months after the Tylenol incidents, The US Congress passed the "Tylenol Bill," which made it a federal offense to tamper with consumer products.

  • Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack

    Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack
    Members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo dropped five bags of liquid sarin in the Tokyo Subway during rush hour, releasing a deadly nerve gas. The incident left 12 dead and 6,000 injured, many of whom still suffer effects from the attack.

  • Anthrax Scare

    Anthrax Scare
    Anthrax was found in US Congressional offices. Letters containing anthrax spores were also mailed to news media offices and the offices of 2 Democratic US Senators. The incident killed 5 people and infected 17.