Mauve: The first synthetic dye of the world that was discovered accidentally
There are literally infinite shades of colour. However, the human eye is capable of recognising only 10 million shades! These shades stem from 11 main colours: Red, orange, yellow, blue, green, grey, brown, pink, black, white and purple. There is a rather pale and bluish-purple shade that is popular among us. This shade is known as mauve. Interestingly, the name comes from a French word called ‘Malva’, meaning mallow flower. It became extremely popular during the 1890s. From the time of its discovery, mauve has been a favourite in the fashion industry. However, not many people know that this colour was discovered accidentally in a research lab, that too by a student! Let us unravel more amazing facts about this beautiful shade.
The discovery of mauve
During the 19th century, the British Empire was expanding its colonies in tropical regions. Soldiers stationed in these regions started contracting malaria. The only medical remedy known for malaria at that time was quinine, and it was hard to find. Quinine is a natural substance obtained from the bark of cinchona tree that grows in tropical forests like South America. With the number of cases of malaria in soldiers increasing, a more affordable and faster way to procure quinine was needed. So, chemists were looking to synthesise quinine in laboratories. A teenage student named William Henry Perkin was on this task along with his professor, celebrated German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann. During the Easter holiday of 1856, Perkin was visiting his family in London. There, he tried a new method in his small lab at home. The experiment was a failure, but he discovered something else! Perkin noticed a purplish hue in the reaction container. When he started washing it, the colour became lighter and this was when he knew he had discovered something special! He had just created the first synthetic dye in the world, mauve! A classic case of serendipity indeed!
Mauve became an alternative to expensive natural dyes
Before Perkin, the only way to obtain the mauve shade was through natural dyes made from living creatures. For example, the Phoenicians (modern Lebanon) used Tyrian purple obtained from the mucus of the sea snail Bolinus brandaris. Unfortunately, this made it expensive and only people from a high socio-economic background could procure them. But thanks to Perkins’s discovery, mauve garments became common and were seen everywhere from London to Paris. At a royal exhibition in 1862, Queen Victoria sported a mauve gown, which boosted its popularity all the more. So, mauve became the alternative to natural, expensive dyes. As a result, this exquisite shade was no longer exclusive!
Mauve helped medicine and scientists too
Perkin’s discovery of mauve not only revolutionised the dye industry but also helped the medical fraternity. Interestingly, the artificial dye helped German biologist Walther Flemming to colour cells and study them under the microscope. Walther Flemming became the first person to successfully study chromosomes (genetic cells) and cell division (mitosis) in humans!
Wait, that’s is not all. The artificial dye also helped scientist Robert Koch to discover the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis (TB). He used it on the sputum of a TB patient, which led him to discover bacillus tuberculosis responsible for the infection. Robert Koch won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905 for this! Perkin’s dye was an essential step in the studies of German physician and scientist Paul Ehrlich in the research of chemotherapy. He won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908 for his contributions to chemotherapy research. Amazing, isn’t it?