Spermaceti wax - The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18thC brought the first major change in candle-making since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, became available in quantity. It was harder than both tallow and beeswax and did not give off smell.
Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax.