In 1856, at the age of 18, the English chemist William Henry Perkin was looking for a synthetic substitute for quinine, whose anti-malarial effects were well documented. By mixing aniline, derived ...

Distinguished guests from all over the UK descended on London to honour the 150th anniversary of William Perkin's discovery of the first synthetic dye, mauveine. The celebrations were jointly ...

Before William Henry Perkin invented Mauve dye in 1856, there were no synthetic dyes available. But the only natural source of purple dye is a species of predatory sea snail called the Murex snail.

His name is William Perkin. When he started his career Perkin was living in exciting times. This was the Age of Empire, a world where in time the sun really would never set on British imperial assets.