An introduction to the science of how things get clean
600 Soap-making became an established craft in Europe. 1100 Italy, Spain, and France became centers of soap-making. 1600 Soap-makers arrived at the Jamestown colony in North America. 1700 Nicolas Leblanc invented a way to make soda ash from salt in 1791. 1800 • Michel Chevreul discovered secrets of fat and soap chemistry.