Acetaminophen has been around since the late 19th century. It was first synthesized in 1878 by Harmon Northrop Morse and possibly earlier by Charles Frédéric Gerhardt in 1852. However, it was not used therapeutically until the early 1950s when it was marketed as a safer alternative to other analgesics and antipyretics. The brand Tylenol, which contains acetaminophen, was introduced in 1955 by McNeil Laboratories and became widely used thereafter.