British Chemist Sir William Henry Perkin Honoured With Doodle On Birth Anniversary

oogle honoured British chemist Sir William Henry Perkin with a doodle on what would have been his 180th birthday. Mr Perkin may not be a familiar name to many people, but the significance of his work lives on to this very day - he is best known for his accidental discovery of the first aniline dye: the purple mauveine.

Born in London on March 12, 1838, William Perkin was the youngest of the seven children of George Perkin, a successful carpenter.

At the age of 14, Mr Perkin attended the prestigious City of London School - setting him on a path of scientific discovery.

In 1853, 15-year-old Perkin began working with esteemed German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann at the Royal College of Chemistry (now Imperial College London).While carrying out experiments with quinine, a chemical that was first discovered in the bark of certain trees, Mr Perkin had accidentally discovered a way of creating a dye which could be used to colour fabrics.

The discovery was significant as until then fabrics had to be coloured with expensive natural substances that could never be used in large quantities.

COMMENTSThe rich purple colour Mr Perkin had stumbled across was adopted by no less than Queen Victoria herself.

Mr Perkin passed away in 1907 after suffering from pneumonia and is buried in Harrow.