Aspirin was invented in Germany, specifically in the laboratory of the pharmaceutical company Bayer in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. The key development occurred on August 10, 1897, when Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann successfully synthesized acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), the active ingredient in aspirin, from acetanhydride and salicylic acid
. Although Hoffmann is traditionally credited with the invention, later research suggests that Arthur Eichengrün, a colleague at Bayer, may have played a decisive role in directing the development and synthesis of aspirin
. Bayer then marketed acetylsalicylic acid under the brand name "Aspirin" starting in 1899
. This invention marked the transition from natural salicin compounds derived from willow bark to a chemically pure and more tolerable drug form developed in Germany at Bayer's facilities.
