The Probert Encyclopaedia of Science & Technology

DYNAMITE

Dynamite is an explosive consisting of nitro-glycerine which has been absorbed into some inert material such as kieselguhr, sawdust or wood pulp. Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel in 1867, and was tried and approved in 1868. In 1875 a man named Thomson, Thomassin or Thomas made a time bomb with dynamite which he concealed upon the North German steamer Mosel with the intention of sinking it to claim the insurance on some goods he had on board. The bomb exploded while the ship was in dock for reasons unknown, killing more than 80 people and wounding another 200. Thomson confessed his crime and then killed himself.
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