Magenta

Yep, we are talking about the color.

In 1859 a terrible battle was fought in the town of Magenta in the province of Lombardy during the Second War of Italian Independence. On that day 54,000 French troops fought 58,000 Austrians and when all was said and done over 9,000 men lay dead. When the armies moved on the locals in the town collected all the bodies and placed the bones in an ossuary (a building for such things) which still is in place today.

Also in 1859 the first red aniline dyes started being used and were known as Fuchsine or Roseine. The color never really took off and in an attempt to cash in on recent events the name of the color was changed to Magenta in an effort to evoke the image of the blood-soaked fields of the small town after the battle. The name stuck.