As the paper noted, a large quantity of strychnine had recently been obtained from a local chemist by way of a forged order. Despite the popularity of Cyanide and Strychnine, Arsenic was nonetheless the chief poison of the Victorian era.
Classic poisons like hemlock, nightshade, aconite, foxglove, opium, and strychnine were used to treat a range of ails, from the humble head cold to heart conditions, and even worn as makeup. Toxic metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic were ingredients in medicines lining pharmacy shelves as late as the 20th century.
In the 1800s arsenic compounds became widely available – as weed-killers, flypapers, rat poisons, etc. – and were used in domestic murders, being cited in many famous murder cases. 2. Atropine: aka “belladonna” and extracted from the juice of the berries of the deadly nightshade bush.
The 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning was the arsenic poisoning of more than 200 people in Bradford, England, when sweets accidentally made with arsenic were sold from a market stall. Twenty-one victims died as a result.
The King of Poisons
Plato immortalized hemlock, which is said to be the most violently poisonous plant in the North Temperate Zone, in his description of the death of Socrates. In the rest of Europe from the time of the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, arsenic was the king of poisons.
Vegetable poisons were best known and most frequently used. They included plants with belladonna alkaloids, e.g. henbane, datura, deadly nightshade and mandrake; aconite from monk's hood; hemlock, hellebore, colchicum (from autumn crocus), yew extract and opium.
Polonium: Polonium is a radioactive poison, a slow killer with no cure.
Poisoners also used a variety of plant-based substances, including mandrake, hemlock, aloe, buttercup, ergot, biting stonecrop, juniper, and nux vomica (strychnine). At least one type of poisonous mushroom was used as well.
It became common in the 18th century to use arsenic as rat poison, and the public at large became aware of the stuff. It was widely available and very inexpensive. And it was the ideal poison because it was colorless and tasteless.
In 19th-century England people considered small doses of arsenic safe and used it for diverse products, from face powder to rat poison. The substance found its way into food, textiles, medicine, and other common goods, so its use in wallpaper was not considered unusual.
Arsenic, Cyanide and Strychnine - the Golden Age of Victorian Poisoners.
Poison used in the past were also present in 20th-century murders. In the early 20th century, arsenic was often used, but during the mid-century, cyanide became quite popular.
Arsenic has been called the “King of Poisons”, because it had been used to poison royalty and thus alter who would ascend to the throne. The development of the Marsh test, by James Marsh in 1830s, a simple analytical method to detect arsenic, may be a reason why intentional arsenic poisonings decreased.
However, the most infamous poisoning by hemlock is attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates, who chose a hemlock drink as his preferred means of death—most sources say that he drank it mixed with water or as a tea.
Possible substances include belladonna (atropine), nux vomica (strychnine), almond paste (cyanide) or, more likely, arsenic in the form of distillations from aconite, hellebore and henbane, all favoured tools in the Elizabethan poisoner's arsenal.
Infectious diseases were the greatest cause of Victorian mortality. Most of these, such as smallpox, tuberculosis and influenza, were old scourges, but in 1831 Britain suffered its first epidemic of cholera.
The earliest commonly sold poisons were usually arsenic or phosphorous powders. In the 1920's cyanide was used in several product formats.
While it smells fine now, hygiene practices (or the lack thereof) in France during Louis XIII's reign meant that the palace smelled like urine, fecal matter, and more. Some claim that a lack of toilets in the palace even led some visitors to relieve themselves behind curtains and pillars.
Novichok (Russian: Новичо́к, lit. 'newcomer, novice, newbie') is a group of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993.
Arsenic, Hemlock, Aconite, Mugwort, Mandrake and Henbane… all infamous Medieval poisons that could be administered effortlessly and stealthily! Hemlock is a plant from the parsley family whose leaves, root and seeds are used to make medicine for sedation, breathing problems and painful, swollen joints.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that can kill you quickly. It is called the “silent killer” because it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non- irritating. If the early signs of CO poisoning are ignored, a person may lose consciousness and be unable to escape the danger.
Botulinum. Botulinum is a toxin found in a certain species of bacteria, and yes it is used for botox in very small doses. In larger doses, Botulinum is possibly the most acutely lethal toxin in the world, and causes paralysis, respiratory failure, and yes, of course, death.
1. Botulinum (ingested) It's hard to rank the lethality of toxins, but experts agree that botulinum – several orders of magnitude deadlier than sarin – is the gold standard. Your nervous system fails and you die in extreme pain.