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Google Doodle celebrates 180th birth anniversary of Sir William Henry Perkin

Perkin was knighted in 1906, on the 50th anniversary of his serendipitous discovery.

Google Doodle celebrates 180th birth anniversary of Sir William Henry Perkin

New Delhi: Search engine Google on Friday celebrated the life and works of Sir William Henry Perkin.

Google is honoring Perkin on his 180th birth anniversary. Born in England on March 12th, 1838, William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered “mauveine,” the first synthetic dye.

“As an 18-year-old laboratory assistant, Perkin was cleaning out dark muck from a beaker after a failed experiment, when he noticed that the substance left a vivid purple stain when diluted with alcohol. Following his discovery, he focused on the patenting, manufacturing, and commercialization of this purple dye, which he named mauveine,” Google wrote.

Perkin’s strong and inexpensively produced mauveine finally made this once-exclusive color readily accessible, igniting a violet fashion frenzy -  as seen in today’s Doodle by UK-based illustrator Sonny Ross. Even Queen Victoria herself wore a mauveine-dyed gown to the Royal Exhibition of 1862!

Perkin was knighted in 1906, on the 50th anniversary of his serendipitous discovery.