On October 31st, 1858, a few innocent lozenges took a devastating turn in Bradford, killing several children. William Hardacre, also known as Humbug Billy, sold five pounds of peppermint sweets at a discounted price to his customers that day. However, he had negotiated the discount by haggling with confectioner Joseph Neal and ended up receiving a batch of sweets that were darker than usual. Unfortunately, Hardacre did not question the quality of the sweets, and by nightfall of the next day, several of his customers had died.
Initially, the symptoms that nine-year-old Elijah Wright exhibited upon his hospitalization were suspected of being cholera. However, Surgeon John Roberts began to suspect the sweets as a possible cause of the illness. Unfortunately, Joseph Scott’s father went to fetch a doctor for his son only after he was already seriously ill. The sweets were the common link between the two boys, but the connection had not yet been made.
Orlando Burran, age five, and his brother John Henry, age three, were found dead. Their father had also been ill that morning, and two others in their house were also sick. Doctor John Henry Bell took note of the sweets and sent them for testing to chemist Felix Marsh Rimmington. Reports then began pouring in as people all over the district became ill and died. The police were horrified to learn that there were thousands of the deadly sweets in circulation, and they began warning everyone to avoid eating them.
The disaster unfortunately led to the deaths of 20 people, most of whom were children. However, it also served as a turning point for the safety of medicines and consumer products. In 1868, the Pharmacy Act limited the sales of poisons and dangerous drugs to qualified pharmacists and druggists. The act also created a regulatory framework that required appropriate drug labeling, a law that still holds true to this day. Despite the tragedy, Bradford poisoning resulted in industry reform
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More