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 a...