THE HISTORY OF ANTIFREEZE
The earliest example of antifreeze was, essentially, alcohol. More specifically, it was made of methanol, also referred to as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol. Alcohol has a lower freezing temperature that water, so it was effective on early automobiles, but it was poorly suited in cooling. The biggest issue, however, was that it accelerated the corrosion of metal in the engine. Then, in 1856, a French Chemist named Charles Adolphe Wurtz (below) synthesized ethylene glycol, but very little was done until the 1920s and 30s, where it was used as an automotive antifreeze. It was also used in dynamite and in military applications for the World Wars.