William Henry (Sir) Perkin

from: Wikipedia

Sir William Henry Perkin, FRS (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was a British chemist and entrepreneur best known for his accidental discovery of the first aniline dye: the purple mauveine. Though failing 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. 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.”

Perkin received many honours in his lifetime. In June 1866, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1879, received their Royal Medal and, in 1889, their Davy Medal. He was knighted in 1906, and in the same year was awarded the first Perkin Medal, established to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his discovery of mauveine. 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 the Society of Chemical Industry.

Perkin was a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company for 46 years and was elected Master of the Company for the year 1896–97.

Today blue plaques mark the sites of Perkin's home in Cable Street, by the junction with King David Lane, and the Perkin factory in Greenford, Middlesex.

In 2013, the William Perkin Church of England High School opened in Greenford, Middlesex. The school is named after William Perkin, and has adopted a mauve uniform and colour scheme, in tribute to his discovery of mauveine.

On 12 March 2018, search engine Google showed a Google Doodle to mark Perkin’s 180th Birthday.

https://www.google.com/#ddle=1

https://g.co/doodle/m8fjbr