1938 Synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) created by Dr. Leon Goldberg and Sir Edward Charles Dodds. DES was first prescribed to supplement a pregnant woman’s natural estrogen production, and approved by the FDA in 1941. In the U.S., an estimated 5-10 million people were exposed to DES between 1938-1971.
Dodds, E., Goldberg, L., Lawson, W. et al. (1938). OEstrogenic Activity of Certain Synthetic Compounds, Nature, 141, 247–248.
Nancy Langston, (2010). Toxic Bodies: Hormone Disruptors and the Legacy of DES. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT; DES Action timeline.
1939 DDT used as an insecticide. Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller discovered that DDT had insecticidal properties. DDT was initially used to successfully combat malaria, typhus, and other diseases among both military and civilian populations, and then used for insect control in crop and livestock production, homes, and gardens.