In 1704 Isaac Newton chimed in and declared that it consisted of particles that moved through a medium called luminiferous aether, which pervaded the universe. (discovermagazine.com)
You're absolutely correct that there was consensus at one point about luminiferous aether, and it was proven to be BS because of new evidence. (reddit.com)
In the 1880s, Albert Michelson tried to measure the «luminiferous ether» that scientists thought was the carrier of light. (discovermagazine.com)