A colorless, highly flammable chemical compound with the formula C₆H₆, used in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, and other chemicals.
Named by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1833, derived from 'benzoin' (a resin) plus the suffix '-ene' indicating a hydrocarbon. The structure wasn't understood until Kekulé's famous ring theory in 1865.
Kekulé claimed the benzene ring structure came to him in a dream of a snake biting its own tail, though this story is likely apocryphal. Benzene's discovery revolutionized organic chemistry and led to our understanding of aromatic compounds.
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