Purple went from emperors to London fashion thanks to a student's failed experiment.

1856

For centuries the dye came from thousands of sea snails; then Perkin, trying to make quinine, got one from coal tar.

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The event

• Perkin's accidental mauve1856 · London. Over the Easter holiday, 18-year-old student William Perkin tried to make quinine from coal tar and got a black sludge that dyed cloth a brilliant purple. It was the first synthetic dye, and it made Perkin rich.

19th century

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