imperialcollege (Instagram)sourcephoto180 years ago today, Chemist Sir William Henry Perkin was born. An Imperial alumnus, Perkin is known for accidentally discovering the first aniline dye - the purple mauveine. Perkin's accidental discovery helped make high-demand purple-coloured fabric more accessible to the public and also made Perkin incredibly successful. Perkin continued to research organic chemistry and went on to discover several other synthetic dyes. He is truly one of our early innovators!
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