1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,159 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So we 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: have a little bit of housekeeping to do before we 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: get into today's episode. If you are a listener, you 6 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: may be wondering what happened to that trip to Italy. 7 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: We were planning that trip to Italy that we've been 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: planning since late for two years now. So, uh, it 9 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: was originally planned for a certain date, back up, pushed 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: back for a pandemic. We've pushed it a few times. 11 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: It is currently back on for May of two. Yes, 12 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: it had been originally planned to happen maybe essentially as 13 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: when this episode is coming out, but it seems much 14 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: safer for everyone to try to postpone it again for 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: hopeful fingers crossed last time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, And if 16 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: you are interested in that trip, I can promise you 17 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: we had an absolute blast on our last trip and 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: we went to France, and I expect nothing but the 19 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: same on this one. We are going to do some 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: very fun stuff and if you're interested, you can go 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: to Defined Destinations dot com, slash Rome Dash Florence. That 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: will give you the whole scoop on all this planned. Uh, 23 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 1: And I know there's been some shifting. A lot of 24 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: people have stuck with it. So if you're one of 25 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: our listeners that registered way way back in the beginning, 26 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: in the before times, and you've stuck it out and 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: you're still planning to come with us, fantastic. If you 28 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: are someone who wasn't in on that and now you 29 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: think you want to, there are still some spaces left, uh, 30 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: so please take a peek at that. And if it 31 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: looks delicious and fun for you, and I think it's 32 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: going to be both of those things, we'd love to 33 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: have you with us. Yeah, all right, and now, uh 34 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: we are getting into today's topic. So this involves colors, 35 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: which is one of my favorite things to talk about. 36 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: So we mentioned the creation of Synthetic Die on the 37 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: podcast before, most specifically on episode on the history of Colors. 38 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: But the chemist who stumbled onto mauve Die, which you 39 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: will sometimes here pronounced mov as well, just how I 40 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: set it growing up, and now I've transitioned to move. 41 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: But if I say a mom, that's just because it's 42 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: ingrained from forty plus years before I decided to change 43 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: it up. Uh. That man is often latted as having 44 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: changed the world, which is a pretty significant thing to 45 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: say about a person. And William Henry Perkin is unique 46 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: in that he saw how quickly the world of industry 47 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: changed in response to his innovation. So today we're going 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: to talk about his life and how, yes, creating move 49 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: was the beginning, and that's something he did while still 50 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: quite young. But it wasn't as though he made this 51 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: discovery and then just let that be the thing that 52 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: defined him. He then hustled and turned that discovery into 53 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: a business and continued to innovate and he ushered in 54 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: a new field of commercially oriented chemistry. William Henry Perkin 55 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: was born on March twelfth, thirty eight, at three King 56 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: David Lane in Shadowell, London. His father was George Fowler Perkin, 57 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: who was a carpenter and a builder, And that might 58 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: sound like a really humble start, but the builder there 59 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: is more like a general contractor, and George Perkin was 60 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: really successful. His seven children, of which William Henry was 61 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: the last, had a private school and easy walking distance 62 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: of the family home. That was the Arbor Terrorists School, 63 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: which William Henry attended, and William was a very smart kid. Uh. 64 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: Pretty much every biography of him just mentions how curious 65 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: and intellectual he was for a child, and he was 66 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: interested in all kinds of things, from music to art 67 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: to science. And when he was fourteen, he took a 68 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: self portrait. Photograph has become a really common image that 69 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: pops up when you look at Perkin's name, and that's 70 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: notable considering that the dagara type had only been introduced 71 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: thirteen years earlier, when he was still a baby, and 72 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: by the time Perkin took his own photo, he had 73 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: been dabbling in photography for about two years, So that 74 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: speaks both to his ingenuity in new technology as well 75 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: as the family's wealth in being able to afford the 76 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: supplies needed for a budding fourteen year old photographer to 77 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: kind of muck around and play with things. Early in 78 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: his life, William was steered towards architecture as a career. 79 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: His father encouraged him in that direction, and that actually 80 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: seems like it could have been a pretty good match 81 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: for his intellect and temperament because it would have combined 82 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: his interest and curiosity and things like engineering and mechanics 83 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: with a natural ability and art. William is said to 84 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: have drawn and painted very well, and even started copying 85 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: over architectural plans while he was a boy, so he 86 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: seemed amenable to the idea of a career as an architect. 87 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: But the moment that got him passionately interested in chemistry 88 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: took place when he was still twelve years old. He 89 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: saw a friend doing some very basic experiments with crystals, 90 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: and he would later write about how much this got 91 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: him thinking about chemistry and its possibility, saying quote the 92 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: possibility also of making new discoveries impressed me very much. 93 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: I determined if possible, to accumulate bottles of chemicals and 94 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: make experiments. Shortly after this revelation, William started attending the 95 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: City of London School. He took chemistry classes as not 96 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: an elective because that wasn't even an option, but as 97 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: sort of an ala carte add on to his class 98 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: schedule for an extra seven shillings each term. Perkin was 99 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: enrolled in lunchtime classes twice a week, so he needed 100 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: to skip his lunch to go to class, and he 101 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: was willing to do it because not only did Perkin 102 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 1: perform chemistry experiments also when he was at home under 103 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,119 Speaker 1: advisement of his chemistry teacher, Thomas Hall, but he also 104 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: attended additional chemistry lectures around London him he clearly was 105 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: into this. He went to London Hospital to hear Henry 106 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: Leatherby speak on the subject, and then he was also 107 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: able to get permission from Michael Faraday to sit in 108 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: on his electricity lectures at the Royal Institution. Perkin enrolled 109 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: at the Royal College of Chemistry in eighteen fifty three 110 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: at the age of fifteen. He had needed to convince 111 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: his father that this was a good plan. He had 112 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: gotten his chemistry teacher to help him in that effort. 113 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: One of the reasons that George Perkin was initially pretty 114 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: wary of the idea was that chemistry as a career 115 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: was not really established. There just weren't many jobs to 116 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 1: be had. But between William and his teacher, Thomas Hall, 117 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: they made the case that this field had potential, and 118 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: George Perkin finally acquiesced and at the Royal College of Chemistry. 119 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: Perkin studied under August Wilhelm von Hoffman, and William quickly 120 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: showed a very high degree of aptitude as well as 121 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: dedication to the field of chemistry, and Hoffman made Perkin 122 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: an honorary assistant. He's aims to have been just about 123 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: obsessed with this field. As he mentioned, he was doing 124 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: so much extra work in chemistry, and at this point 125 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: he converted his room at home into a rudimentary lab. 126 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: He recalled this setup later in life, writing quote, my 127 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: private laboratory occupied half a long room and a few 128 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: shelves for little bottles, and a table in my fireplace. 129 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: I had even constructed an oven. I worked with an 130 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: old brazilious alcohol lamp, and I did the burnings with 131 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: charcoal in a shed. And in this laboratory I worked 132 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,559 Speaker 1: nights and during vacations. Perkin wrote his first published work 133 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: on the production of menap philamine through combining cyanogen chloride 134 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: with napthaline in eighteen fifty six. He was also promoted 135 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: to a staff position in the lab that year, and 136 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 1: then when he was eighteen, Perkins started his famous projects 137 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: which he intended to synthesize quinine, and this was a 138 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: vacation project. The school was closed for Easter break, so 139 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: his teacher and mentor Hoffmann had suggested years earlier, back 140 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty nine that naphthaline could be used to 141 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: prepare synthetic quinine, and quinine, of course, is in high 142 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: demand for its curative powers, specifically for treating malaria, so 143 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: finding a way to synthesize it in a lab instead 144 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: of having to extract it from a bark was a 145 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: rather thrilling prospect. And again Perkin was a striver, and 146 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: coal tar, which was rich in amino compounds and was 147 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: considered a pollutant, was also considered a potential solution to 148 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: this problem. But the quinine alluded Perkin. His first attempt 149 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: resulted in a reddish brown material that was not at 150 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: all what he was after, and his second attempt he 151 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: combined analyne sulfate with potassium dichromate, and this resulted in 152 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,559 Speaker 1: a black precipitate, still not quinine. And then there are 153 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: two versions of this story, and one version he was 154 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: washing his lab equipment after this failure, and note the 155 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: black goo he had created left a purple residue and 156 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: that it stained a cloth. And in the other he 157 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: decided to try to salvage something out of this unsuccessful 158 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: result and tried an extraction of the black precipitate with methanol. 159 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: What he got was a move matter whichever of those 160 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: versions played out, and it's possible that it could be 161 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: kind of some overlap between them. He ended up with 162 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: a purple substance that got the name moving. Okay, that's 163 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 1: not a particularly common word, so in planer terms, he 164 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: had accidentally discovered how to synthesize purple dye using an 165 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: abundant source material that was considered garbage. So the name 166 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: mouve is derived from the old French word for mallow 167 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: because of that plant's pale purple flowers, so that's why 168 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: it's called moving. There's a lot of writing about how 169 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: much credit has to be given to Perkin regarding his 170 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: insight here, and that's because it would have been easy 171 00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: to see that his result was not quinine as he 172 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: had hoped, and then to write up the experiment and 173 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: discard the seemingly incorrect result. But Perkins saw that he 174 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: had possibly come up with something interesting, even if it 175 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: had missed his intended target. So he next replicated the process, 176 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,959 Speaker 1: and then he started refining it to always get the 177 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: move material on purpose. His older brother, Thomas Dix Perkin, 178 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: assisted him in these experiments, and then he got the 179 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 1: idea to test it as a die and to see 180 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: if it had potential as a commercial product. So he 181 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: first did a series of experiments dyeing silk samples with 182 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: his movin, and then he sent those samples to the J. 183 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: Polar and Son die house to get their opinion. And 184 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: the letter he got back from Robert Polar read quote, 185 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: if you're discovery does not make the goods too expensive, 186 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: It is decidedly one of the most valuable that has 187 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: come out for a very long time. This color is 188 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,720 Speaker 1: one which has been very much wanted in all classes 189 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: of goods, and could not be obtained fast on silks, 190 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,199 Speaker 1: and only at great expense on cotton yarns. I enclose 191 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: you a pattern of the best lilac we have on cotton. 192 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: It is died by only one house in the United Kingdom. 193 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: But even this is not quite fast, and does not 194 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: stand the tests that yours does, and fades by exposure 195 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 1: to air. So this letter had to be a rather 196 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: thrilling read for a young man who had been drawn 197 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: to chemistry as a preteen because of the potential of 198 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: discovering new things. And this person is basically like, yes, 199 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: you did, and we really wanted. A close friend of his, 200 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: Arthur H. Church, who was also an assistant at the 201 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: lab at the Royal College of Chemistry, suggested that Perkin 202 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: get a patent on his die as quickly as possible. 203 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: There was a little bit of a hiccup here, because 204 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: normally the Patent office would only grant patents to inventors 205 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: who were twenty one or older. William was younger than that. 206 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: But William and his brother prepared a sample and then 207 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 1: on the advice of legal counsel, he applied for a 208 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: patent anyway, that was granted on August eight. So coming up, 209 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about how Perkin turned this discovery 210 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 1: into an industry, but first we will pause for a 211 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Once Perkin had refined his method for creating 212 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: moving and he had run it by those dyers, his 213 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: next move was to set up a plant to make it. 214 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: This was the start of an incredibly lucrative career in 215 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: chemical manufacture, but it was at the time not a 216 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 1: sure thing at all. Even though his purple, which he 217 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: called a few different things, including moving analgine purple and 218 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 1: tyrian purple, had received enthusiastic support from the die mill. 219 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: This was not an industry that really existed at the time. 220 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: Other diyes were still sourced from nature, not created synthetically, 221 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: and he and be certain that die mills would be 222 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: willing to use his product, or that they would be 223 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: happy with the result. Keep in mind, Perkin was still 224 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: a teenager at this point. He was really smart, sure, 225 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,719 Speaker 1: but he had absolutely no experience in the textile industry 226 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: or in manufacturing. He had been able to conduct some 227 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: experimental die runs at J. Puller and Son, and based 228 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: on those he'd been able to refine his formulas to 229 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 1: meet the needs of specific dyeing scenarios as potential problems 230 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: had been identified. So it worked a different way on 231 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: silk than it did on cotton, and he kind of 232 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: worked with them to figure out the best ways to 233 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: get the optimal result. But even though all of this 234 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: work had already been done, the risk in setting up 235 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 1: a plant was still very significant. On top of all 236 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: of that, there was the matter of perkins job and 237 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: his mentor august Bill Ham von Hoffman. When Perkin approached 238 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: him to discuss his plan to become a full time 239 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: chemical manufacturer, it did not go spectacularly well. Even though 240 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: Perkin had sample to show how well his die actually worked. 241 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: But regardless of whether his professor was impressed with the 242 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,839 Speaker 1: work itself, he was chagrined that Perkin would step away 243 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,199 Speaker 1: from academic life to drop down to what the academic 244 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: community saw as a demeaning manufacturing job, even if he 245 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: did own the place. It's a little snooty um. All 246 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: of this gave Perkins confidence a little bit of a wobble, 247 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: So he consulted another die expert in London and gave 248 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: him some of the die to test, and that dire 249 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: named Thomas Keith, responded very positively to the results and 250 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: he urged Perkin to absolutely move forward with his business. 251 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: But even so, securing capital for it again for a young, 252 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: unproven man and a young unproven industry, was a hurdle 253 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: that was proving hard to overcome. Another boost to any 254 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: wavering on perkins part came from his father. While George 255 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: Perkin may have initially doubted the lucrative possibilities of a 256 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: career in chemistry, by the time Williams Moving die had 257 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: been refined, he was really a believer. He offered to 258 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: finance the startup of a die plant. To be clear, 259 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: George Perkin was wealthy, but he was still taking a 260 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: huge risk here. He put most of his assets on 261 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: the line for his son, so if this business failed, 262 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: he would be cleaned out financially. That's gotta be um, 263 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: both a huge sense of trust and like feeling very 264 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: loved and believed in by your parents, and also stressful. Um, 265 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: I'm so glad you believe in me. Please don't let 266 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: me ruin you. Uh. There was an additional and immense 267 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: element of support that came from William's brother, Thomas Dicks Perkin. 268 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: We mentioned that he had already helped will with his 269 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: his experiments, and Thomas had a head for business and 270 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,480 Speaker 1: he had learned about construction from their father, and so 271 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: he became William's partner essentially with the intent that William 272 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: could handle the development and science part of the business 273 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: and Thomas would take care of any business administration. So 274 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: once he had signed on to manage such things, William 275 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: Perkin was in a fairly good place to start this business, 276 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: even though it did still have risks. And soon they 277 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: had set up Perkin and Sons as a company and 278 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,479 Speaker 1: they bought a plot of land at Greenford Green in Middlesex. 279 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: From there, they had to start not just a business, 280 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: but really a whole industry from scratch. No one had 281 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: plans for a chemical manufacturing plant, so they had to 282 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: be drawn up according to what they thought they would need. Additionally, 283 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: Perkins Company had to figure out a supply chain for 284 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: the raw materials that they needed in large quantities. That 285 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: posed its own problem. For example, the ben zine that 286 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: was required could only be sourced from a coaltard distiller 287 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: in Glasgow, but the ben zine that the company offered 288 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: was crude and required a whole other distillation process once 289 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: it got to the plant, And that same sort of 290 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: problem happened again and again with other materials. But Perkin 291 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,080 Speaker 1: and his brother worked through these issues and in December 292 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty seven they delivered their first order to 293 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Keith and Son's Dyres. Almost immediately, it became apparent 294 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: that while the pigment itself was consistent, the way that 295 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,160 Speaker 1: fabrics took the die was not. And William had worked 296 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: on this a little bit at the Polar Company, but 297 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: there were still some things to work out. So silk, 298 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: for example, would take the die so rapidly that if 299 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 1: it wasn't applied in a completely uniform manner. The color 300 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: would be darker or more intense anywhere the fabric had 301 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: been in the die longer than another. Perkin worked with 302 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: dyers to fix this problem, and similarly found ways to 303 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: ensure that other textiles less prone to quickly bond with 304 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,360 Speaker 1: die would also uptake the pigment, and soon he had developed, 305 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: of course, not only this die, but also fixatives as 306 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 1: well as application processes that textile dyers then implemented. Perkin 307 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: ran into another problem with the die business due to 308 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: a paperwork error. The patent that Perkin and sons held 309 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: in France for perp Will Die was invalid, and soon 310 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: front plants started creating moving for die houses there that 311 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: cut Perkin out of a significant revenue source. And this 312 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: was particularly true because France became absolutely insessed with this die. 313 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 1: Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon the Third, warr and set 314 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: this trend for the entire country to want purple garments, 315 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: and even bigger unofficial endorsement came from Queen Victoria, though 316 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,639 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria wore a gown died with Perkins moving to 317 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: her daughter's wedding, and from there the popularity of the 318 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: color spread throughout Europe and the US at a really 319 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: rapid pace. Despite losing out on that French business, and 320 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 1: because of the high profile appearance of his die on 321 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: the Queen's Gown, perkins own business was booming. And keep 322 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: in mind he had only just set up this die 323 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 1: manufactured plant, and people were already setting up kind of 324 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: copycat plans to do die in France, so he had 325 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 1: already started this entire new industry. His moving die cost 326 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty pounds per kilo, but it also 327 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: took a lot of raw material to produce, so according 328 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: to Perkins calculations, it took one pounds of coal to 329 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: get ten pounds twelve ounces of coal tar, which he 330 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: used to get the moving and from that ten pounds 331 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,119 Speaker 1: twelve ounces. The yield of moving after all of the 332 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: chemical processes were complete was just one quarter of an ounce. 333 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 1: But still, this was a superior option to natural means 334 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: of accruing enough purple pigment to achieve a saturated purple 335 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,879 Speaker 1: tone in textiles, and perkins synthetic version was more color fast. 336 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: He had had the good fortune to stumble onto a 337 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,360 Speaker 1: synthetic purple at exactly the right time purple had been 338 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: on the rise in popularity, and the options to get 339 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,000 Speaker 1: it had been limited until his discovery. Just a couple 340 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: of years into their chemical manufacturing venture. It became a 341 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: parents of William, Thomas and George that the original plant 342 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 1: just couldn't keep up with demand. A new facility was 343 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:04,200 Speaker 1: built in eighteen fifty nine, and from there they expanded 344 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: their catalog to include more colors. The most popular remove 345 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 1: another purple tone that was called Britannia Violet and Perkins Green. 346 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: Over time, their color offerings were not used exclusively in 347 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: the textile industry because Perkin and Sons Dies were the 348 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: first synthetic guys to make their way onto postage stamps. 349 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: Coming up, we're going to talk about how Perkin eventually 350 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: stepped away from this industry he had created and what 351 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: happened to his life after that. But first we'll hear 352 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: from the sponsors that keep stuff you missed in history class. 353 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: Going a synthetic red dye proved to be difficult to 354 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,479 Speaker 1: create for a number of years. Thomas Dick's Perkin had 355 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: actually patented a magenta manufacture process in eighteen fifty nine 356 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: that the plant used briefly, but that involved handling mercury, 357 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 1: and that process was shut down complete Lee when their 358 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: workers started to become ill. Perkin, working to find an 359 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,440 Speaker 1: improved process, produced artificial alizarin that's a crimson dye from 360 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: Anthracyne in eighteen sixty nine, and when he filed his 361 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 1: patent on it, he discovered that another patent for essentially 362 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: the same process had been filed the prior day by 363 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: chemists working for the German company B A. SF. While 364 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: they were both issued patents, Perkin then refined the technique 365 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: with a different process and that made him able to 366 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: manufacture it before B. S F could get it to market. 367 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 1: This seemed like a big potential problem, but the two 368 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: companies eventually came to an agreement that allowed Perkin and 369 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: Son the English market pretty much on their own to monopolies. 370 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: William Henry Perkin married for the first time in eighteen 371 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: fifty nine when he was twenty one. His bride, Jemima 372 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: Harriet Lasette, was his first cousin. This couple had two 373 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: children together. They were William Henry Perkin Jr. Who was 374 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: born in eighteen sixty and then another son, Arthur George, 375 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 1: again the following year. Unfortunately, though Jemima died of tuberculosis 376 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty one, which left William Sr. With two 377 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:13,200 Speaker 1: infant sons. Perkin remarried five years later to Alexandria Caroline 378 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: Malwow who went by Sasha. He and Sasha had a son, Frederick, 379 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 1: followed by four daughters, Sasha, Lucy, Annie, and Helen Mary. 380 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: The die manufacturing plant was a thriving business, but the 381 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 1: Perkin brothers were also constantly operating at kind of a 382 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: breakneck pace, and part of that for William was that 383 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: he wanted to continue his other experiments, which were not 384 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: exclusively in the development of pigments. Perkin had another significant 385 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,960 Speaker 1: chemistry achievement in eighteen fifty eight. That year, he worked 386 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,560 Speaker 1: alongside another scientist B. F. Deppa, and the two produced 387 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 1: the first lab created version of glycine. Glycine is an 388 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: amino acid, and that was the first amino acid produced 389 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,679 Speaker 1: in a lab setting. With the same collaborate. Later, Perkins 390 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: synthesized tartaric acid two years later in eighteen sixty and 391 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: he was publishing about these findings and other experiments throughout 392 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: his time running the business. Yeah, he kept his hand 393 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: in in the scientific world throughout another process that Perkins 394 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: developed while he was still in the synthetic die business 395 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: was what's called the Perkin reaction. I am not a chemist, 396 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: and I will mess this up if I try to 397 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,479 Speaker 1: extrapolate from a definition into Planer terms. So I am 398 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 1: going to read the Miriam Webster definition of a Perkin 399 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,960 Speaker 1: reaction here, and it is quote A reaction for making 400 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: an unsaturated aromatic acid as cinemic acid by heating and 401 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: aromatic aldehyde with an acid and hydride as acidic and 402 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: hydride in the presence of a base as sodium acetate 403 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: or potassium carbonate. I don't want to dunk on Miriam 404 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,359 Speaker 1: Webster because I used Miriam Webster all the time, but 405 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: I still have a number of questions after he read that. 406 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 1: But basically what this means is that using this method, 407 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: it's a lot of chemistry stuff, and I feel foolish 408 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: that I don't grasp chemistry well enough to really be 409 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: able to say more about it. He was able to 410 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: synthesize the first artificial perfume. You made a compound called 411 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: kumar in which smells like fresh moan hay. To be clear, 412 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,119 Speaker 1: though Perkin did not make this into a perfume. He 413 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: just developed Kumaran, and it was later used in perfumes 414 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: and as a flavoring for sweets. Today, perkins work, both 415 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,400 Speaker 1: in this area and others, is cited as the launching 416 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: point for organic chemistry and all of the many industries 417 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: which have developed through it. After seventeen years in the 418 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: dye industry, William Perkin reached a point where he wanted 419 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: to be doing his research more than he wanted to 420 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:45,119 Speaker 1: be running a business, and so on January one, seventy four, 421 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: Perkin and Sons was officially sold for a hundred and 422 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:53,680 Speaker 1: five thousand pounds. While Perkin was undoubtedly ready to start 423 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,959 Speaker 1: a less frantic pace of his life with his finances 424 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,439 Speaker 1: secure from the deal, there were some problems with this sale. 425 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,119 Speaker 1: The plant at Greenford Green was not well run by 426 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 1: its new owners, which was Brooke, Simpson and Spiller. They 427 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 1: rapidly lost clients. This led the purchasers to claim that 428 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 1: the Perkins had misled them, and they sued the Perkins, 429 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: citing deception bordering on fraud. This matter was finally settled 430 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,199 Speaker 1: in March eighteen seventy five, with a judge ruling in 431 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: the Perkins favor. Yeah, he was basically like they put 432 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: together a huge dossier of like, here's everything we left 433 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: these people, We told him how to do it. They 434 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: did it wrong, and the judge was like, yep, they 435 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: sure did. So. With this legal matter completed, William Perkins 436 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: set up his home lab, He built a new house, 437 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: and he settled into a life of research. This all 438 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: sounds like a really idyllic retirement, but he was still 439 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: just thirty seven at this point. He was a young man. 440 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,719 Speaker 1: In the years between founding the chemical plant and selling it, 441 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: he had managed to write and publish almost two papers 442 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: per year on a variety of organic chemists three subjects. 443 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,320 Speaker 1: Once he was free of the time limitations of industrial work, 444 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: his publishing output only went up, and he wrote and 445 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,439 Speaker 1: published papers on his research right up until the end 446 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: of his life. He also continued to enjoy art and 447 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,399 Speaker 1: music throughout his life, and he was able to enjoy 448 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 1: more of these pastimes and share them with his kids 449 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: in his post industry years. In nineteen o six, the 450 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary of perkins synthesis of moving, he was knighted 451 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: and there were jubilee celebrations to mark the half century 452 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,719 Speaker 1: birthday of his revolutionary chemical accident. The official name of 453 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 1: this anniversary festivity was the International Celebration of the Coultar 454 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,679 Speaker 1: Color Jubilee. It consisted of a lot of events for Perkins, 455 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,919 Speaker 1: who his hand all around Britain and abroad. When he 456 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,480 Speaker 1: traveled to the US that year, he was elected an 457 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: honorary Fellow of the American Chemical Society. As part of 458 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: that honor, he was given a silver punch bowl, and 459 00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 1: he said it would be good for lemonade. This is 460 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: a good natured nod to his being a teetotaler. Perkin 461 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: never drank. At that same ceremony he was given the 462 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: Perkin Medal of the American Chemical Society. That was the 463 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: first That medal is still issued annually for quote innovation 464 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: and applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development. One of 465 00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: these celebration events, which took place at the Royal Institution, 466 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: this is kind of like the culmination event was described 467 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: this way. Quote Sir William H. Perkin, on his appearance 468 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: was received with loud and prolonged cheers. There was a 469 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:36,400 Speaker 1: large attendance of representatives of scientific societies and of commercial 470 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: organizations interested in the coal tar color industry. A great 471 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: many ladies were also present at that event. The Chairman 472 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: of the Royal Institution, Professor R. Medola, gave a brief 473 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,959 Speaker 1: speech which included quote, the object for which we are 474 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 1: assembled on the present occasion is so well known to 475 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 1: most of you that, in the view of the long 476 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: program before us, I do not propose to occupy your 477 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 1: attention myself for more than a very few moments. It will, 478 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: I am sure, be your wish in the first place, 479 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: that we should take this opportunity of offering our hearty 480 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,440 Speaker 1: congratulations to the founder of the cold tar color industry 481 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: on having lived to witness the consummation of his labors, 482 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: which we are celebrating on this fiftieth anniversary. Yes, so 483 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: there was no doubt during his lifetime that people thought 484 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: he had really, uh completely invented this entire new field. 485 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: And when Perkin wrapped up his time at the jubilee, 486 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,920 Speaker 1: concluded his final speech with quote, when I look back 487 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: on my life and consider all the ways I have 488 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: been led above all, I thank God to whom I 489 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: owe everything, for all his goodness to me, and ascribe 490 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: to him all the praise and honor. Perkin was Methodist, 491 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: and his religion was an integral part of his identity. 492 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:53,840 Speaker 1: And how he lived his life. He made a lot 493 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: of money in the chemical color industry, and he gave 494 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,479 Speaker 1: a lot of it away. He provided a fund to 495 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: build a Methodist church in Sudbury, and he thought being 496 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,880 Speaker 1: a job creator was one of the best achievements of 497 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: their company's success. In July of nineteen oh seven, Perkin, 498 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: who had just gotten through all of this travel, which 499 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: was celebrating him but really took a toll on him, 500 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: started to feel ill and he did not seek medical 501 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: help for several days because he was a bit wary 502 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: of doctors. He also didn't think whatever was going on 503 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: with serious. He did speak with a dietitian because he 504 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: did not realize that he had pneumonia, and that also 505 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,239 Speaker 1: his appendix had burst. A doctor was finally called in, 506 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: but it was too late, and Perkin died on July fourteenth, 507 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: nineteen o seven. Perkins obituary and the Journal of the 508 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: Society of Dires and Colorist Threat in part quote his 509 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: neighbors at Sudbury loved him for his quiet philanthropy. His 510 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: generous courtesy and kindness of heart were striking characteristics which 511 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: strangely attached him to all those with whom he was 512 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: personally acquainted. Aside from the fact that every ing from 513 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: anesthetics to artificial sweeteners are often traced back to the 514 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: work that Perkin did, he also left a legacy in 515 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 1: chemistry through his children. Perkin's sons all had careers that 516 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: followed in their father's footsteps. William Henry Perkin Jr. Was 517 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: considered Great Britain's finest organic chemist during his life, and 518 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 1: Arthur eventually became head of the Department of color Chemistry 519 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: at University of Leeds. Frederick, his son from his second marriage, 520 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: became a pioneer in low temperature carbonization. So his his 521 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: tendrils in science just kept like going on and on 522 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 1: and on and on. Uh, and we are still I 523 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: think you could make a firm case enjoying the benefits 524 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: of his work today. UM. I obviously love the color purple. 525 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,160 Speaker 1: H He's an interesting one and UH seems to have 526 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: maintained a fairly kind and low key attitude throughout his life. 527 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: We'll talk about that a bit more in our behind 528 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,800 Speaker 1: the scenes. UH. And now I have a listener mail 529 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: about some of our Halloween fun This one is about 530 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: haunted houses and it's from our listener Barb who writes 531 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: High Ladies. I love the show and especially look forward 532 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,120 Speaker 1: to your October episodes. I'm also a huge fan of 533 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: haunted houses, so after hearing this week's episode on the 534 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: history of them, I knew I needed to write in. 535 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 1: As a kid, I have fond memories of going through 536 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,800 Speaker 1: our local haunted house each year with my dad. It 537 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,719 Speaker 1: was an old, possibly even abandoned house on the end 538 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 1: of my block and was run by the j C's. 539 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 1: My dad started taking me as a pretty young child, 540 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: maybe four or five. His favorite story to tell us 541 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: about the first time we went at the end of 542 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: the haunted house, just as you exited, there was a 543 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: person who would chase you with a quote chainsaw. I'm 544 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: pretty sure it was just the motor without a blade, 545 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 1: but that sound was scary enough in the dark, my 546 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: dad said. I jumped a few feet in the air, 547 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 1: and my feet were moving before they hit the ground. 548 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: I was out of there. One might think this experience 549 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: would keep me away. Nope, not me. I was hooked. 550 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: We went every year, sometimes more than once. When I 551 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: was a little older, I would talk my friends into 552 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: going with me as well. I even dragged my now 553 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 1: husband to a haunted Schoolhouse, which had become one of 554 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: my favorites to visit as a date. I had no 555 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: idea about the changes in safety measures for haunted houses 556 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: over the years. Are Haunted House at the end of 557 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: the block moved to a new location in the early nineties, 558 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: so your episode shed some light on why that might 559 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: have been. Thanks so much for all the spooky October episodes. 560 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,320 Speaker 1: I had the pleasure to see you in person at 561 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:37,440 Speaker 1: the October Live event in Chicago and meet you afterwards. 562 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 1: You were both so gracious and a delight to me. 563 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 1: I hope you can come back to our area once 564 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:44,760 Speaker 1: live shows start back up. Thanks again, Barb, Barb, I 565 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 1: hope so too. I hate three UM, I missed touring 566 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: and I love Chicago. I would love to do UM. 567 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: I don't know that Tracy would agree. I would do 568 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: like a two month long tour of every city we've 569 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: ever hit, and then some because we haven't done it 570 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:02,720 Speaker 1: in so long. Know I it's as long as we 571 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: had like a break day every three days. We take 572 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 1: a break day four maximum. Yeah, because day five of 573 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: a tour I would be anymore. That's how I would like. 574 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 1: I would wake up in the middle of the night 575 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: to go to the bathroom, and my body would try 576 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,400 Speaker 1: to take me to wear the room had the bathroom 577 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: in a different hotel, and I would wind up in 578 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: a corner like where am I? Yes, I think there 579 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,720 Speaker 1: was a time where you texted me once and asked 580 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: me what airport I had landed in, and I told 581 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: you I did not know, um. And then when I 582 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,360 Speaker 1: got to the baggage claim, I recognized the airport and 583 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: was like, oh, here's where I am. I'm fine because 584 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: we were in a city with multiple airports and I 585 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: was like, I don't know. Um. You know, that's how 586 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 1: it works when you're touring. Your brain gets a little 587 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:54,960 Speaker 1: fuzzy on your whereabouts. But Barb, thank you again so much, 588 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,959 Speaker 1: and I'm glad that that was a fun episode, and 589 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:01,000 Speaker 1: also like, I just love hearing people's life long affinities 590 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:03,960 Speaker 1: for haunts and all of the fun that Halloween in 591 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 1: October can bring. First sure, if you would like to 592 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,000 Speaker 1: write to us, you can do so at History Podcast 593 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,439 Speaker 1: at i heeart radio dot com. You can also find 594 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,359 Speaker 1: us on social media as missed in History, And if 595 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:18,040 Speaker 1: you haven't subscribed to the podcast yet, that's super duper easy. 596 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:19,759 Speaker 1: You can do it right now. If you want, you 597 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: can find that on the I heart Radio app or 598 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:29,719 Speaker 1: anywhere else you listen to your favorite podcast. Stuff you 599 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,440 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 600 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 601 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:38,759 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 602 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:39,480 Speaker 1: favorite shows.