Sir Walter Raleigh persuades Queen Elizabeth to try smoking. He was later beheaded by King James for, among other things, his love of smoking. His head was embalmed and given to his widow who carried it around until her death 29 years later. The use of tobacco is growing greatly and conquers men with a certain secret pleasure, so that those who have become accustomed can hardly be restrained. That same year the first Thanksgiving takes place to celebrate the first good tobacco crop.
British scientists conduct an experiment in which a cat is fed a few drops of distilled tobacco oil.
The cat immediately drops dead. Dr. John Hill, a botanist and physician, does the first scientific study on tobacco. He warns snuff users that they are vulnerable to cancers of the nose. When Clark and his contingent arrived back, the addicts didn't even take time to unsaddle their horses before clawing at the cache where they had stored some tobacco on the way out. Chemist John Walker dips sticks in sulpher and potassium chloride to make the first match.