A Short History of Aspirin

On March 6, 1899, the German company Bayer patented aspirin, a medication that would go on to become one of the most widely used drugs in the world.

The active ingredient in aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, traces its roots back thousands of years. Ancient healers, including Hippocrates in Greece, used extracts from willow bark to relieve pain and reduce fever. The key compound in the bark, salicin, was known to doctors by the mid-1800s, but early versions of the medicine had an unpleasant taste and often caused stomach irritation.

In 1897, Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann developed a more stable and purified form of the compound, making it easier and safer to take. Some historians have suggested that Hoffmann’s work may have been based on earlier research by chemist Arthur Eichengrün, whose role was largely overlooked for many years. Bayer patented the drug two years later and began distributing aspirin to physicians in powdered form. The name “aspirin” comes from “a” for acetyl, “spir” from the spirea plant (another source of salicin), and the common medication suffix “in.”

By 1915, aspirin was available in tablet form and could be purchased without a prescription. Over time it became a staple in medicine cabinets around the world.

Today, aspirin is still commonly used to relieve pain, reduce fever, and decrease inflammation from headaches, muscle aches, arthritis, and minor injuries. It also plays an important role in modern medicine because of its blood-thinning properties. Doctors often recommend low-dose aspirin therapy for certain patients to help reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots, though it should always be taken under medical guidance due to potential side effects.

More than a century after its patent, aspirin remains one of the most recognized and widely used medications in history.