On this day: February 27
POSTED: 10:12 AM PST Feb 26, 2013
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Feb 26, 2013
Saccharin is accidentally discovered, the 22nd Amendment is ratified, Michael Jackson wins his first Grammy, and Mister Rogers dies, all on this day.
Klewic/Wikimedia Commons
1879: Saccharin, the artificial sweetener, is discovered by Constantin Fahlberg while researching coal tar compounds at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. The sweet taste of saccharin was discovered when Fahlberg noticed a sweet taste on his hand during a meal and connected the incident with the compound he had been working on that day. He subsequently became wealthy by establishing a factory to produce it.
