Short answers, pulled from the story.
Michael Faraday first isolated benzene in 1825 from the oily residue left over during the production of illuminating gas. He called this new substance bicarburet of hydrogen.
Friedrich August Kekulé published a paper in French in 1865 suggesting the structure contained a ring of six carbon atoms. He released a longer version of his theory in German the next year.
Between 1978 and 1881, catalytic reformates accounted for approximately 44 to 50 percent of total US benzene production. This process blends hydrocarbons with boiling points between 60 and 200 degrees Celsius with hydrogen gas.
After smoking 32 cigarettes per day, the smoker takes in about 1.8 milligrams of benzene. This amount equals roughly ten times average daily intake by nonsmokers.
In 2005, city of Harbin China cut off water supply due to major benzene exposure after explosion at CNPC factory on November 13.