Cancer among chimney sweeps
Percivall Pott (1714-1788), a famous surgeon at London's St. Bartholomew's Hospital, was the first to describe chemical carcinogenesis by tracing the relationship of scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps to their constant exposure to soot. Pott published his findings in 1775, and the first laws were inacted to protect young chimney sweeps in 1788. National Library of Medicine