Acetaminophen was first synthesized in 1878 by Harmon Northrop Morse. It was initially described in chemical literature around that time but was not widely used as a medication until the mid-20th century. The first clinical use of acetaminophen to treat pain and fever occurred in 1893. It became more commonly used and commercially important starting in the 1950s, with the Tylenol brand launched in 1955 by McNeil Laboratories.
