Carbolic soap Carbolic soap Carbolic soap is a mildly antiseptic soap containing carbolic acid and/or cresylic acid, both of which are phenols derived from either coal tar or petroleum sources. In 1834, German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge discovered a phenol, now known as carbolic acid, which he derived in an impure form from coal tar. In August 1865, Dr. Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister applied a piece of lint dipped in carbolic acid solution onto the wound of an eleven-year-old boy at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, who had sustained a compound fracture after a cart wheel had passed over his leg. After four
Litigation before the judgment in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co Litigation before the judgment in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co The Litigation before the judgment in "Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company" was a rather decorated affair, considering that a future Prime Minister served as counsel for the company. A close reading of the submissions and the decision in the Queen's Bench show that the result of the Court of Appeal was not inevitable or necessarily a decision on orthodox principles of previous case law. For the facts and full final decision, see "Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company". At first instance, on the 4th of July 1892, in