William Henry Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England. 1938 年3 月12 日，威廉·亨利·珀金出生在英国的伦敦。 As a boy, Perkin's curiosity prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering. 在孩提时代，受好奇心的驱使，珀金对艺术、科学、摄影及工程学产生了浓厚的兴趣。 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. 但是一个偶然的机会，珀金在已故祖父家中发现了一个破旧但功能完备的实验室，这激起了他对化学的热情。

As a student at the City of London School,Perkin became immersed in the study of chemistry. 在就读伦敦城市学院期间，珀金将自己完全沉浸在化学的研究学习中。 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. 他的老师托马斯·豪尔（Thomas Hall）发现了他在化学方面的天赋和专注，并鼓励他参加大不列颠皇家学院杰出的科学家迈克尔·法拉第（Michael Faraday）举办的一系列讲座。 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. 那些演讲进一步激发了这位年轻人对化学的热爱。1853 年，15 岁的珀金成功地进入了皇家化学学院学习。

At the time of Perkin's enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the noted German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann. 珀金刚入学的时候，皇家化学学院院长是德国著名的化学家奥古斯特·威廉黑姆·霍夫曼（August Wilhelm Hofmann）。 Perkin's scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann's attention and within two years, he became Hofmann's youngest assistant. 珀金在科学方面的天分很快便吸引了霍夫曼的注意，在不到两年的时间里，珀金就成为了霍夫曼最年轻的助手。 Not long after that,Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune. 随后不久，珀金取得了一个将会给他带来声誉和财富的科学突破。

At the time, quinine was the only viable medical treatment for malaria. 在那个时代，奎宁是唯一可以用来治疗疟疾的药物。 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. 这种从原产于南美洲的金鸡纳树树皮中提取的药物在1856 年变得供不应求。 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. 因此，在霍夫曼提到想要用合成代替品来替代奎宁时，作为霍夫曼的优秀学生，珀金顺理成章地接受了这份挑战。

During his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family's house. 珀金在家里顶层的实验室中度过了1856 年的假期。 He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline, an inexpensive and readily available coal tar waste product. 他尝试用低价而又易得的煤焦油废料来制造奎宁。 Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine. 尽管他尽了最大的努力，但最终未能制造出奎宁； Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge. 然而，他却制造出了一种神秘的黑色沉淀物。 Luckily, Perkin's scientific training and nature prompted him to investigate the substance further. 幸运的是，科学的训练和天性促使珀金进一步对沉淀物进行了研究。 Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally produced a deep purple solution. 在实验的不同阶段，他把重铬酸钾和酒精加入苯胺里，最终获得了一种深紫色溶液。 And, proving the truth of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur's words 'chance favours only theprepared mind’. 他的成功恰恰印证了著名科学家路易斯·巴斯德的名言：“机会总是留给有准备的人”。 Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find. 珀金从他的意外发现中看到了巨大的潜力。

Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions. 在历史上，纺织品染料都是从动植物的分泌物等自然原料中提取的。 Some of these, such as the glandular mucus of snails, were difficult to obtain and outrageously expensive. 其中就包含价格昂贵、采集困难的蜗牛黏液。 Indeed, the purple colour extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it. 事实上，从蜗牛中提取的紫色染料曾经非常昂贵，以至于在那个时代只有富人才能够买得起。 Further, natural dyes tended to be muddy in hue and fade quickly. 此外，天然染料的色彩浑浊且易褪色。 It was against this backdrop that Perkin's discovery was made. 珀金的发明正是在这样的背景下产生的。

Perkin quickly grasped that his purple solution could be used to colour fabric, thus making it the world's first synthetic dye. 珀金很快想到把这种紫色溶液用到织物染色中，如此便成就了全世界第一种合成染料。 Realising the importance of this breakthrough, he lost no time in patenting it. 意识到了这个突破的重要性后，他立即为此申请了专利。 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. 但是在对自己的这项成果的各种想法和反应中最具吸引力的就是，他几乎立刻意识到了新染料的商业潜力。

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). 起初，珀金把这种他发明的染料命名为提尔紫(Tyrian Purple)，随后人们通常称它为苯胺紫(mauve)（法语中用来制造紫罗兰色染料的植物的名字）。 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. 他还向苏格兰染料厂的老板罗伯特·普拉尔(Robert Pullar) 征求意见，罗伯特·普拉尔向他保证，如果这种染料不会褪色且价格低廉，就非常值得投入生产。 So, over the fierce objections of his mentor Hofmann, he left college to give birth to the modern chemical industry. 因此，尽管他的导师霍夫曼极力反对，珀金还是离开了学院，转而致力于现代化学工业的诞生。

With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London. 在父亲和兄弟的帮助下，珀金在离伦敦不远的地方建立了自己的工厂。 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. 1857 年，他的染料厂用伦敦煤气路灯产生的几乎取之不尽、用之不竭而且价格低廉的煤焦油做原材料，开始生产全世界第一种合成染料。 The company received a commercial boost from the Empress Eugenie of France, when she decided the new colour flattered her. 当这种颜色受到法国皇后Eugénie 的热捧之后，他的染料厂进入了一个商业繁荣期。 Very soon, mauve was the necessary shade for all the fashionable ladies in that country. 没过多久，苯胺紫就变成了法国所有时尚女性必备的颜色。 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. 无独有偶，英国维多利亚女王也在公众场合身着这种颜色的礼服出现，这使得苯胺紫在英国也变得非常流行。 The dye was bold and fast, and the public clamoured for more. 这种染料颜色靓丽而且不容易褪色，人们对它的需求量也越来越大。 Perkin went back to the drawing board. 珀金开始重新规划新的目标。

Although Perkin's fame was achieved and fortune assured by his first discovery, the chemist continued his research. 虽然珀金的第一项发现为他收获了声誉和财富，但他还是在继续着他的研究。 Among other dyes he developed and introduced were aniline red (1859) and aniline black (1863) and, in the late 1860s, Perkin's green. 他发明并给人们带来了其他颜色的染料，其中包括苯胺红(aniline red)、苯胺黑(aniline black)及19 世纪60 年代末期的珀金绿(Perkin’s green)。 It is important to note that Perkin's synthetic dye discoveries had outcomes far beyond the merely decorative. 值得一提的是，珀金发明的合成染料不但给装饰领域做出了贡献， The dyes also became vital to medical research in many ways. 同时也给医药研究的许多方面带来了至关重要的影响。 For instance, they were used to slain previously invisible microbes and bacteria, allowing researchers to identify such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax. 例如，研究人员可以先利用合成染料给肉眼观察不到的微生物和细菌着色，从而帮助他们识别肺结核、霍乱及炭疽等在内的病菌。 Artificial dyes continue to play a crucial role today. 人工合成染料在今天依旧扮演着重要的角色。 And, in what would have been particularly pleasing to Perkin, their current use is in the search for a vaccine against malaria. 此外，最让珀金感到欣慰的是，合成染料目前正被用于治疗疟疾疫苗的研究中。