Short answers, pulled from the story.
An Egyptian list found in the tomb of Rekh-mi-re at Thebes mentions bleached linen as early as 1000 BC. This document proves that people removed natural color from fabric over two millennia ago.
The French chemist Claude Louis Berthollet first demonstrated the bleaching properties of chlorine around 1789. His work marked the transition from outdoor grassing to indoor chemical treatments.
Parliament passed the Encouragement of Manufactures Act 1698 to prohibit wearing printed calicos from China, India, or Persia. A second law in 1721 banned all printed, painted, stained, or dyed calicoes entirely.
Hydrogen peroxide serves as a major source of chemical bleaching for textiles and wood pulp globally. Around sixty percent of world hydrogen peroxide usage goes toward these specific applications.
Optical brightening agents absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet region between 340 and 370 nanometers. They then re-emit light in the blue region typically from 420 to 470 nanimeters through fluorescence.