Sir William Henry Perkin: a review of his life, work and legacy

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

One hundred and fifty years ago the world of coloration changed forever with William Henry Perkin's discovery of the first synthetic dye derived from coal tar. The life, work and legacy of Sir William Henry Perkin are reviewed in the light of his early chemical education, his training in coal tar chemistry with Hofmann, and his discovery, patenting and manufacture of mauveine. This was the first synthetic dyestuff to be manufactured in a purpose‐built industrial chemical plant anywhere in the world.