Perkin quickly grasped that his purple solution could be used to colour fabric, thus making it the world’s first synthetic dye. It was against this backdrop that Perkin’s discovery was made. Further, natural dyes tended to be muddy in hue and fade quickly.
Indeed, the purple colour extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it. Some of these, such as the glandular mucus of snails, were difficult to obtain and outrageously expensive. Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions. And, proving the truth of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur’s words ‘chance favours only the prepared mind’, Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find. Luckily, Perkin’s scientific training and nature prompted him to investigate the substance further. Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally produced a deep purple solution.
Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge. Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine.
He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline, an inexpensive and readily available coal tar waste product. Thus, when Hofmann made some passing comments about the desirability of a synthetic substitute for quinine, it was unsurprising that his star pupil was moved to take up the challenge.ĭuring his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family’s house. The drug is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, native to South America, and by 1856 demand for the drug was surpassing the available supply. Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune.Īt the time, quinine was the only viable medical treatment for malaria. Perkin’s scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann’s attention and, within two years, he became Hofmann’s youngest assistant. Those speeches fired the young chemist’s enthusiasm further, and he later went on to attend the Royal College of Chemistry, which he succeeded in entering in 1853, at the age of 15.Īt the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the noted German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann. His talent and devotion to the subject were perceived by his teacher, Thomas Hall, who encouraged him to attend a series of lectures given by the eminent scientist Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution. But it was a chance stumbling upon a run-down, yet functional, laboratory in his late grandfather’s home that solidified the young man’s enthusiasm for chemistry.Īs a student at the City of London School, Perkin became immersed in the study of chemistry. William Henry Perkin was born on March 12,1838, in London, England.Īs a boy, Perkin’s curiosity prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering.
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