"1856. Eighteen-year-old chemistry student William Perkin's experiment has gone horribly wrong. But the deep brown sludge his botched project has produced has an unexpected power: the power to dye everything it touches a brilliant purple. Perkin has discovered mauve, the world's first synthetic dye ..."

Much recommended book on the serendipitous discovery of the first coal-tar based dye, which would lead to the discovery of synthetic indigo, hydron blue and numerous other synthetic colors, and also laid the basis for a new chemical industry and eventually the pharmaceutical industry, leading to important advances in medicine.

"Mauve -- How one man invented a colour that changed the world" by Simon Garfield

Thanks to @[email protected] for the hint!

#mauve #indigo #hydronblue #dye #dyestuffs #syntheticdye #coaltar #perkin