In 1825, Michael Faraday first discovered benzene, and in 1845, it was isolated from coal tar by A.W. von Hofmann. Chemist August Kekule von Stradonitz proposed the theory of the benzene ring in 1865, and Joseph Loschmidt determined its molecular formula in 1861. Eilhardt Mitscherlich established its chemical formula in 1834, and in the 1930s, bonding models were developed to explain its stability.