The Discovery of Synthetic Dyes

The chemist William Henry Perkins

When William Henry Perkins discorvered synthetic dyes in 1856, he was only eighteen. Before that invention, bright dyes were incredibly expensive and therefore reserved for the wealthy upper class. The colours that the poor could afford would be the dull muddy colours such as off greens, browns and pale blues. This was because the first batch of dye was the brightest and as a result it was the most expensive but the cheaper, more affordable colours were the last batches of a particular colour. After the discovery, synthetic dyes became a mass produced product. 

The discovery was an accident, William Henry Perkins was actually in his home lab attempting to find a cheaper alternative to the natural drug- quinine. This was because, at that time, there was an epidemic of malaria breaking out in India and the only known drug that could prevent the disease was quinine. The people who could afford it, as it was costly, would add it to alcohol and drink it with meals. The science student was making a compound of aniline but his sleeve somehow got dipped in the mixture. Astonishingly, the mixture, which was a black, turned his shirt sleeve a rich purple! After his discovery he manufactured the dye and it became the first of it's kind and was known as mauve! 

A piece of cloth originally dyed by William Henry Perkins

Previously, the colour purple was only achieved as a dye if divers dived down to the bottom of the sea and collected small snails called murex. The only problem was that the amount of snails needed to make a small amount of dye was a ridiculous amount. During the Roman times, only the emperors could afford it and later on it was made illegal for any who wasn't above the status of a baron to wear it because it was used by the wealthy as a status symbol!  

This revolutionised the history of clothing because for once the poor could afford brightly coloured cloth and it led to other synthetic dyes being founded! It also made William Henry Perkins famous... and rich. Later in his life the inventor received a knighthood!

To find out more about the natural dyes click here.

Sources:
~ Open University: The Birth of Synthetic Dyes