William Henry Perkin The man who invented synthetic dyes
William Henry Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England. As a boy, Perkin’s curiosity prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering. But it was a chance stumbling upon a run-down, yet functional, laboratory in his late grandfather’s home that solidified the young man’s enthusiasm for chemistry.
1838年3月12日，William Henry Perkin出生于英国伦敦。孩提时代的珀金就对艺术、科学、摄影和工程产生了兴趣。有次，他在祖父家中建立一个简陋但适用的实验室，这坚定了他对化学的热情。
As a student at the City of London School, Perkin became immersed in the study of chemistry. His talent and devotion to the subject were perceived by his teacher, Thomas Hall, who encouraged him to attend a series of lectures given by the eminent scientist Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution. Those speeches fired the young chemist’s enthusiasm further, and he later went on to attend the Royal College of Chemistry, which he succeeded in entering in 1853, at the age of 15.
还在伦敦城市中学读书时，珀金就沉浸于化学研究。他的老师Thomas Hall发现了他的化学天赋及对化学的专注精神，便鼓励他去听皇家科学研究所著名科学家Michael Faraday的演讲。这些演讲又点燃了这个年轻化学家的热情，1853年时年15岁的珀金成功进入英国皇家化学学院学习。
At the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the noted German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann. Perkin’s scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann’s attention and, within two years, he became Hofmann’s youngest assistant. Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune.
珀金入学时，德国著名化学家August Wilhelm Hofmann执掌英国皇家化学学院。珀金的科学天赋很快引起了Hofmann的注意，不到两年珀金就成为了Hofmann最年轻的助手。不久之后，珀金便取得了一项科技成就，这可让他名利双收。 At the time, quinine was the only viable medical treatment for malaria. The drug is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, native to South America, and by 1856 demand for the drug was surpassing the available supply. Thus, when Hofmann made some passing comments about the desirability of a synthetic substitute for quinine, it was unsurprising that his star pupil was moved to take up the challenge.
当时，奎宁是治疗疟疾唯一有效的药物。这种药物是从原产南美洲的金鸡纳树的树皮中提取出来的。而到了1856年，这种药物就供不应求了。因而，Hofmann随口一说希望找到奎宁的人工代替品。毫无意外，他的得意门生接受了这一挑战。 During his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family’s house. He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline, an inexpensive and readily available coal tar waste product. Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine. Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge. Luckily, Perkin’s scientific training and nature prompted him to investigate the substance further. Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally produced a deep purple solution. And, providing the truth of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur’s words ‘chance favors only the prepared mind’, Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find.
1856年，珀金在他家顶楼的实验室度过了假期。他试图用苯胺中提取奎宁，苯胺是一种便宜易得的焦煤油废物。尽管竭尽全力，但他最终并没有获得奎宁，反而提取出了一种未知的黑色泥状物。幸运的是，珀金的科学训练和本性促使他进一步研究这种物质。在不同阶段的实验中，珀金将重铬酸钾和乙醇混入苯胺中，最后制成了一种深紫色溶液。正如著名科学家Louis Pasteur所言，机会是留给有准备的人，珀金看见这一意外发现的潜在价值。
Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions. Some of these, such as the glandular mucus of snails, were difficult to obtain and outrageously expensive. Indeed, the purple color extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it. Further, natural dyes tended to me muddy in hue and fade quickly. It was against this backdrop that Perkin’s discovery was made.
纺织染料历来是从天然原料中提取，比如树木、动物排泄物等。这些物质，比如蜗牛粘液腺体，难以获取并相当昂贵。确实，从蜗牛体中提取的紫色染料曾经价格不菲，那时整个社会只有富人才有福消受。再者，天然染料往往容易色调不均且极易掉色。正是在这样的背景下，珀金发现了这一紫色溶液。
Perkin quickly grasped that his purple solution could be used to color fabric, thus making it the world’s first synthetic dye. Realizing the importance of this
breakthrough, he lost no time in patenting it. But perhaps the most fascinating of all Perkin’s reactions to his find was his nearly instant recognition that the new dye had commercial possibilities.
珀金很快明白，紫色溶液可用于布料染色，这就使它成了世界第一种人工染料。意识到这项成就的重要性后，他不失时机地为此申请专利。但或许珀金对这一发现最为惊叹的反应就是，他很快意识到这一新染料具有商业潜力。
Perkin originally named his dye Tyrian Purple, but it later became commonly known as mauve (from the French for the plant used to make the colour violet). He asked advice of Scottish dye works owner Robert Pullar, who assured him that
manufacturing the dye would be well worth it if the colour remained fast (i.e. would not fade) and the cost was relatively low. So, over the fierce objections of his mentor Hofmann, he left college to give birth to the modern chemical industry.
最初，珀金将这种染料命名为泰尔紫，但后来人们通常称之为淡紫色（出自法语：一种制造紫色的植物）。他向苏格兰染料厂主Robert Pullar寻求建议。Robert Pullar
确信，如果这种颜色牢固且成本相对较低的话，那么生产这种染料前景相当不错。所以，尽管导师Hofmann极力反对，珀金离开大学开拓了现代化工业。 With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London. Utilising the cheap and plentiful coal tar that was an almost unlimited byproduct of London’s gas street lighting, the dye works began producing the world’s first synthetically dyed material in 1857. The company received a commercial boost from the Empress Eugenie of France, when she decided the new color flattered her. Very soon, mauve was the necessary shade for all the fashionable ladies in that country. Not to be outdone, England’s Queen Victoria also appeared in public wearing a mauve gown, thus making it all the rage in England as well. The dye was bold and fast, and the public clamoured for more. Perkin went back to the drawing board. 在父亲和兄弟的帮助下，珀金在离伦敦不远的地方建立一个工厂。1857年，染料厂利用便宜丰富的焦煤油(一种伦敦街头煤气灯产生的的副产物)，开始生产世界上第一种人工染料。该公司从法国欧仁妮皇后获得了一笔商业资助，当时她想这种颜色让她变得更漂亮。不久，淡紫色成为了法国时尚女性的必备颜色。英国女王Victoria也不甘示弱，穿着淡紫色礼服出现在公众场合，也使得淡紫色在英国也非常流行。这种染料鲜艳牢固，公众要求有更多颜色的染料。珀金又重新开始研究。
Although Perkin’s fame was achieved and fortune assured by his first discovery, the chemist continued his research. Among other dyes he developed and introduced were aniline red (1859) and aniline black (1863) and, in the late 1860s, Perkin’s green. It is important to note that Perkin’s synthetic dye discoveries had outcomes far beyond the merely decorative. The dyes also became vital to medical research in many ways. For instance, they were used to stain previously invisible microbes and bacteria, allowing researchers to identify such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax. Artificial dyes continue to play a crucial role today. And, in what would have been particularly pleasing to Perkin, their current use is in the search for a vaccine against malaria.
尽管珀金的首次发现已经使他功成名就，但他仍旧继续做着研究。他还研制了其他染料，比如苯胺红（1859年）、苯胺黑（1863年）以及19世纪60年代晚期的珀金绿。值得注意的是，这些人工染料远不止仅有装饰作用。这些染料在医学研究的许多方面也有重要作用。例如，这些染料可以用于给以前无法看见的微生物和细菌染色，使研究员能够分辨肺结核、霍乱和炭疽的杆菌。人工染料在现在也发挥着重要的作用。现在能会使珀金感到高兴的是，这些染料可用于寻找疟疾疫苗。