Though white phosphorus was used for murderous purposes in the form of rat poison, its availability in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries made it a ridiculously easy suicide choice.
One such example is told in the 8th October 1896 Morecambe Visitor and concerns a sailor called Harry Gill. Gill had been arrested for jumping ship, but had admitted to taking poison containing P4 on board the HMS Gossamer.
It does seem to have been a rather rash course of action for such a petty crime.
