T.N.T

Acronym for tri-nitro-toluene, a high explosive compound first prepared by the German chemist Julius Wilbrand in 1863 as a yellow dye. Its explosive characteristics were not appreciated until discovered by another German chemist, Carl Häussermann, in 1891. Germany’s armed forces began using TNT in artillery and naval shells in 1902. The British followed suit in 1907 when TNT generally replaced the less efficient lyddite used previously.