4. Many of the Founding Fathers used cologne to mask body odor
In 1752, Dr. William Hunter, a lecturer on anatomy and surgery, opened an apothecary shop he called Dr. Hunter’s Dispensary. Situated in Newport, Rhode Island, already considered a resort for the more upscale among the colonists, it was an immediate success. Dr. Hunter imported mineral oils and scents from Europe, and eventually developed his own line of perfumes and colognes for both men and women. He identified them by number, Hunter’s Number 1, Hunter’s Number 2, and so on. Among the gentry, which included several of the Founding Fathers, he found a grateful clientele. His perfumes masked the body odors which plagued everybody of the time.
George Washington preferred Hunter’s Number 6, and became so fond of it that he gave it to others as gifts. The amount of cologne worn can be inferred from his gift of Hunter’s Number 6 to the Marquis de LaFayette. The Marquis, a wealthy Frenchman with virtually unlimited access to colognes, received a crate of the stuff from his former commanding officer. The cologne became popular throughout the colonies and early United States through Washington’s tacit endorsement. Dr. Hunter’s Dispensary remains in business in the 21st century, as Caswell-Massey, based in Edison, New Jersey.