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William Henry Perkin
Sign in to saveAlso known as Sir William Henry Perkin
British chemist known for his accidental discovery of the first synthetic dye (1838–1907)
Key facts
- 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
- Royal Medal (1879) Longstaff Prize (1888) Davy Medal (1889) Albert Medal (1890) Perkin Medal (1906)
- Fields
- Chemistry
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- William
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Place of birth
- London
- Place of death
- London Borough of Harrow
- Child
- Arthur George Perkin
- Occupation
- businessperson
- Employer
- Imperial College London
- Languages spoken
- German
- Award
- Longstaff Prize
- Doctoral advisor
- Johannes Wislicenus
- Field of work
- organic chemistry
- Image
- William Henry Perkin.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- date of birth
- 1838-03-12
- date of death
- 1907-07-14
- Commons category
- William Henry Perkin
- manner of death
- natural causes
- cause of death
- pneumonia
- influenced by
- August Wilhelm von Hofmann
- name in native language
- William Henry Perkin
- contributed to creative work
- Popular Science
via Wikidata · CC0
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sir William Henry Perkin (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was an English chemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial synthetic organic dye, mauveine, made from aniline. Though he failed in trying to synthesise quinine for the treatment of malaria, he became successful in the field of dyes after his first discovery at the age of 18.
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 the synthetic organic chemicals industry, Perkin helped to revolutionize the world of fashion."
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “William Henry Perkin” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.