Asbestos is not a modern synthetic material but is a mineral that while being soft and flexible like cotton it is also fireproof.
Asbetos use can be traced back to ancient Greece - when it acquired its name (it means inextinguishable) - where its harmful effects were observed. Strabo, the Greek geographer, and Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, recounted that slaves who wove asbestos cloth acquired a sickness of the lungs.
Kings
Asbestos was used in wicks for 'eternal flames', in the funeral attire when kings were cremated, and in tablecloths and napkins (cleaned by throwing them into a fire).
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Although asbestos use declined thereafter a resurgence occured with the start of the Industrial Revolution where it was used for insulation of high-temperature equipment such as boilers, steam pipes, turbines and kilns.
History
Even with early knowledge that there was a link between asbestos and disease more and more uses were found for it.
A more detailed history of asbestos use and its link to disease can be found at Mesotheliona Information: History of Asbestos.
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West Virginia