Anthrax throughout the ages - courtesy of
CNN
1500 B.C - Fifth Egyptian plague, affecting livestock, and the sixth, known as the plague of boils, are symptomatic of anthrax.
1600's - "Black Bane", thought to be anthrax, kills 60,000 cattle in Europe.
1876 - Robert Koch confirms bacterial origin of anthrax.
1880 - First successful immunization of livestock against anthrax.
1915 - German agents in the United States believed to have injected horses, mules, and cattle with anthrax on their way to Europe during World War I.
1937 - Japan starts biological warfare program in Manchuria, including tests involving anthrax.
1942 - United Kingdom experiments with anthrax at Gruinard Island off the coast of Scotland. It was only recently decontaminated.
1943 - United States begins developing anthrax weapons.
1945 - Anthrax outbreak in Iran kill 1 million sheep.
1950's and 60's - U. S. biological warfare program continues after World War II at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
1969 - President Richard Nixon ends United States offensive biological weapons program. Defensive work continues.
1970 - Anthrax vaccine approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.
1972 - International convention outlaws development or stockpiling of biological weapons.
1978-80 - Human anthrax epidemic strikes Zimbabwe, infecting more than 6,000 and killing as many as 100.
1979 - Aerolized anthrax spores released accidentally at a Soviet Union military facility, killing about 68 people.
1991 - U.S. troops vaccinated for anthrax in preparation for the Gulf War.
1990-93 - Terrorist group, Aum Shinrikyo, releases anthrax in Tokyo but no one is injured.
1995 - Iraq admits it produced 8,500 liters of concentrated anthrax as part of its biological wepaons program.
1998 - U. S. Secretary of Defense, William Cohen approves anthrax vaccination plan for all military service members.
2001 - Still in the making