Friday 10 October 2014

Today in History October 10

October 10 is the 283rd day of the year. There are 82 days remaining until the end of the year.




Today's Highlight in History 1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).

Felix Hoffmann (January 21, 1868 – February 8, 1946) was a German chemist, credited for the first synthesized medically useful forms of heroin and aspirin, while he was employed as a chemist at Bayer.

Aspirin was first synthesized by Felix Hoffmann in 1897 in a stable form usable for medical applications. By acetylating salicylic acid with acetic acid, he succeeded in creating acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in a chemically pure and stable form.

The pharmacologist responsible for verifying these results was skeptical at first, yet once several large-scale studies to investigate the substance's efficacy and tolerability had been completed, it was found Hoffmann had discovered a pain-relieving, fever-lowering and anti-inflammatory substance. The company then worked to develop a cost-effective production process that would facilitate the promising active ingredient to be supplied as a pharmaceutical product. In 1899 it was marketed for the first time under the trade name Aspirin, initially as a powder supplied in glass bottles.
Uncoated aspirin tablets, consisting
of approximately 90% acetylsalicylic acid,
 along with a minor amount of inert fillers and binders.


He was also the first to create a stable version of Diacetylmorphine or Heroin, but he was not its original inventor.

Following the synthesis of aspirin, Hoffmann moved to the pharmaceutical marketing department, where he stayed until his retirement in 1928. He was granted full power of attorney, over Aspirin

Hoffman was never married and died without issue on February 8, 1946 in Switzerland.

Aspirin also known as acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication.

The active ingredient of Aspirin was first discovered from the bark of the willow tree in 1763 by Edward Stone of Wadham College,University of Oxford. He had discovered salicylic acid, the active metabolite of aspirin. Aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world, with an estimated 40,000 tonnes of it being consumed each year. In countries where Aspirin is a registered trademark owned by Bayer, the generic term is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system.



World Events



1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean.
1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell.
1860 – The original cornerstone of the University of the South is laid in Sewanee, Tennessee.
1868 – Carlos Céspedes issues the Grito de Yara from his plantation, La Demajagua, proclaiming Cuba's independence
1871 – The Great Chicago Fire: Chicago burns after a barn accident. The fire lasts from October 8 to October 10.
1897 – German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
1910 – Tau Epsilon Phi: Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity is founded on the campus of Columbia University in New York City, New York.
1913 – United States President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike thus ending construction on the Panama Canal.
1964 – The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
1967 – The Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, comes into force.
1970 – Fiji becomes independent.
1970 – In Montreal, a national crisis hits Canada when Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
1971 – Sold, dismantled and moved to the United States, London Bridge reopens in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
1973 – Vice President of the United States Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax.
1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations.
1997 – An Austral Airlines DC-9-32 crashes and explodes near Nuevo Berlin, Uruguay, killing 74.
1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises Boeing 727 is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people.
2008 – The 2008 Orakzai bombing kills 110 and injures 200 more.
2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign protocols in Zurich, Switzerland to open their borders.
2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country.

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