On the discovery of the first synthetic dyes prepared from phenolic tar ingredients

More as a decade before aniline and phenol were isolated from coal tar by Runge in 1834 and used for the fabrication of a number of important dyes, such as Aniline Black, Mauveine, and Fuchsine, the German naturalist von Reichenberg observed the formation of a red dye from beech tar, which he called pittakal. In this report, both the history of discovery and the laborious structure elucidation of this first tar dye were discussed and the subsequent efforts to obtain further usable dyes from phenol outlined. A decisive contribution for that came from Kolbe and Schmitt, who better known as the inventors of the first technical synthesis of salicylic acid.