Sir William Henry Perkin | |
|---|---|
 Perkin in 1906 | |
| Born | (1838-03-12)12 March 1838 London, England |
| Died | 14 July 1907(1907-07-14) (aged 69) London, England |
| Alma mater | Royal College of Chemistry |
| Known for | Aniline dye Perkin's mauve Perkin reaction Perkin rearrangement |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Signature | |
 | |
Sir William Henry Perkin FRS (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907)[1] was a Britishchemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial syntheticorganicdye,mauveine, made fromaniline. Though he failed in trying tosynthesisequinine for the treatment ofmalaria, he became successful in the field ofdyes after his first discovery at the age of 18.[2]
Perkin set up a factory to produce the dye industrially. Regina Lee Blaszczyk, professor of business history at the University of Leeds, states, "By laying the foundation for thesynthetic organic chemicals industry, Perkin helped to revolutionize the world of fashion."[2]
William Perkin was born in theEast End of London,[3] the youngest of the seven children of George Perkin, a successful carpenter. His mother, Sarah, was ofScottish descent and moved to East London as a child.[4] He was baptized in the Anglican parish church ofSt Paul's, Shadwell, which had been connected toJames Cook,Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother ofThomas Jefferson) andJohn Wesley.
At the age of 14, Perkin attended theCity of London School, where he was taught by Thomas Hall, who fostered his scientific talent and encouraged him to pursue a career in chemistry.[4]
In 1853, at the age of 15, Perkin entered theRoyal College of Chemistry, now part ofImperial College London, where he began his studies underAugust Wilhelm von Hofmann.[5] At this time,chemistry was still primitive: although the majorelements had been discovered and techniques to analyze the proportions of the elements in manycompounds were in place, it was still a difficult proposition to determine the arrangement of the elements in compounds. Hofmann had published a hypothesis on how it might be possible tosynthesise quinine, an expensive natural substance much in demand for the treatment ofmalaria.[4] Having become one of Hofmann's assistants, Perkin embarked on a series of experiments to try to achieve this end.
During theEaster vacation in 1856, Perkin performed some further experiments in the crude laboratory in his apartment on the top floor of his home onCable Street in east London. It was here that he made his great accidental discovery: thataniline could be partlytransformed into a crude mixture which, whenextracted withalcohol, produced a substance with an intensepurple colour.[5] Perkin, who had an interest in painting and photography, immediately became enthusiastic about this result and carried out further trials with his friendArthur Church and his brother Thomas. Since these experiments were not part of the work on quinine which had been assigned to Perkin, the trio carried them out in a hut in Perkin's garden to keep them secret from Hofmann.
.jpg)
They satisfied themselves that they might be able to scale up production of the purple substance andcommercialise it as adye, which they calledmauveine. Their initial experiments indicated that it dyedsilk in a way which wasstable when washed or exposed to light. They sent some samples to a dye works inPerth, Scotland, and received a very promising reply from the general manager of the company,Robert Pullar. Perkin filed for apatent in August 1856, when he was still only 18.[5]
At the time, all dyes used for colouring cloth were natural substances, many of which were expensive and labour-intensive to extract—and many lacked stability, or fastness. The colour purple, which had been a mark of aristocracy and prestige since ancient times, was especially expensive and difficult to produce. Its extraction was variable and complicated, and so Perkin and his brother realised that they had discovered a possible substitute whose production could be commercially successful.[4]
Perkin could not have chosen a better time or place for his discovery: England was the cradle of theIndustrial Revolution, largely driven by advances in the production of textiles; the science of chemistry had advanced to the point where it could have a major impact on industrial processes; andcoal tar, the major source of his raw material, was an abundant by-product of the process for makingcoal gas andcoke.[6]
Having invented the dye, Perkin was still faced with the problems of raising thecapital for producing it, manufacturing it cheaply, adapting it for use in dyeingcotton, gaining acceptance for it among commercial dyers, and creating public demand for it. He was active in all of these areas: he persuaded his father to put up the capital, and his brothers to partner with him to build a factory; he invented amordant for cotton; he gave technical advice to the dyeing industry; and he publicised his invention of the dye.[7]
Public demand was increased when a similar colour was adopted byQueen Victoria in Britain and byEmpress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, in France, and when thecrinoline or hooped-skirt, whose manufacture used a large quantity of cloth, became fashionable.[7] Perkin’s mauve was cheaper than traditional, natural purple dyes and became so popular that English humourists joked about the ’mauve measles’.[8] Everything fell into place: with hard work and lucky timing, Perkin became rich.[4] After the discovery of mauveine, many newaniline dyes appeared (some discovered by Perkin himself), and factories producing them were constructed across Europe.
William Perkin continued active research inorganic chemistry for the rest of his life: he discovered and marketed othersynthetic dyes, includingBritannia Violet andPerkin's Green; he discovered ways to makecoumarin, one of the first synthetic raw materials ofperfume, andcinnamic acid. (The reaction used to make the last became known as thePerkin reaction.)[6] Local lore has it that the colour of the nearbyGrand Union Canal changed from week to week depending on the activity at Perkin'sGreenford dyeworks.
In 1869, Perkin found a method for the commercial production fromanthracene of the brilliant red dyealizarin, which had been isolated and identified frommadder root some forty years earlier in 1826 by the French chemistPierre Robiquet, simultaneously withpurpurin, another red dye of lesser industrial interest, but the German chemical companyBASF patented the same process one day before he did.[5]
During the next decade, the new German Empire was rapidly eclipsing Britain as the centre of Europe's chemical industry. By the 1890s, Germany had a near-monopoly on the business and Perkin was compelled to sell off his holdings and retire. He was elected to membership of theManchester Literary and Philosophical Society on 26 April 1892 followed by his son on 15 November 1892.[9]
Perkin died in 1907 ofpneumonia and other complications resulting from a burstappendix. He is buried in the grounds of Christchurch,Harrow,Middlesex.[10] His will was proved on 28 August 1907 at £86,231 4s. 11d. (roughly equivalent to £11,522,368 in 2023[11]).[12]
Perkin married Jemima Harriet, the daughter of John Lissett, in 1859, which resulted in two sons, (William Henry Perkin Jr. andArthur George Perkin). Perkin's second marriage was in 1866, to Alexandrine Caroline, daughter of Helman Mollwo. They had one son (Frederick Mollwo Perkin) and four daughters. All three sons became chemists.[10]
Perkin received many honours in his lifetime. In June 1866, he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society. In 1879, received theirRoyal Medal and, in 1889, theirDavy Medal.[13] He wasknighted in 1906, and in the same year was awarded the firstPerkin Medal, established to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his discovery ofmauveine.[5] Today, the Perkin Medal is widely acknowledged as the highest honour in the U.S. industrial chemistry and has been awarded annually by the American section of theSociety of Chemical Industry.[14][15] He was President of theSociety of Chemical Industry from 1884-85.[16]
Perkin was aLiveryman of theLeathersellers' Company for 46 years and was elected Master of the Company for the year 1896–97.[17]
Todayblue plaques mark the sites of Perkin's home onCable Street, by the junction with King David Lane, and the Perkin factory inGreenford,Middlesex.
A portrait, by Edward Railton Catterns (1838–1909), is owned by the University of Strathclyde.[18]
On 12 March 2018, search engineGoogle showed aGoogle Doodle to mark Perkin's 180th Birthday.[19]
In 2013, theWilliam Perkin Church of England High School opened inGreenford,Middlesex. The school is operated by theTwyford Church of England Academies Trust (which also operatesTwyford Church of England High School). The school is named after William Perkin, and has adopted amauve uniform and colour scheme, in tribute to his discovery of mauveine.[20]
Since 2007, whenImperial College London gained its own Royal Charter, theAcademic dress of Imperial College London features purple across the range of garments to celebrate the work of Perkin.[21] In 2015, President of the College, Professor Alice Gast, stated that: "The colour purple symbolises the spirit of endeavour and discovery, and the risk-taking nature that characterises those with an Imperial education and training."[22]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Accessed 18 March 2008.
