Acetaminophen was first synthesized by Harmon Northrop Morse in 1877. It was first used clinically in 1893 by Joseph von Mering. Although discovered in the late 19th century, acetaminophen did not come into widespread medical use until the early 1950s. It was marketed as Tylenol in 1955 and gained popularity as a safer alternative to aspirin and other analgesics for pain and fever relief.
