On This Day
·

William Sheppard is issued the first US patent for liquid soap

Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications.

Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as thickeners, components of some lubricants, emulsifiers, and catalysts.

Soaps are often produced by mixing fats and oils with a base. Humans have used soap for millennia; evidence exists for the production of soap-like materials in ancient Babylon around 2800 BC.

Historical Significance

Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications.

Events Before

  1. Alfred Stieglitz is born

    Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.

  2. Qi Baishi is born

    Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…

  3. White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Ni

    White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Nichols

  4. Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon

    Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon

  5. Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of

    Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Māori warriors in Tauranga [1]

Events After

  1. US House of Representatives passes the 14th Amendment (Civil Rights)

    The Civil Rights Act of 1866 (14 Stat. 27, enacted April 9, 1866, reenacted 1870) was the first United States federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by...

  2. First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by I

    First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart's Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern steamship

  3. Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter

    Tsarevich Alexander of Russia (later Alexander III) marries Princess Dagmar of Denmark at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg

  4. Fisk University opens in Nashville, Tennessee

    Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

  5. Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220

    Steamship London sinks in storm off Land's End, England and kills 220

More from the 1860s

Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people in Confederate states

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule

The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.

birth

Alfred Stieglitz is born

Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.

birth

Qi Baishi is born

Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on August 22, 1865?
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as thickeners, components of some lubricants, emulsifiers, and catalysts.
Why is William Sheppard is issued the first US patent for liquid soap significant?
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications.

Explore More

August 22 in HistoryYear 1865