第1段

William Henry Perkin was born on March 12, 1838, in London, England. As a boy, Perkin’s curiosity prompted early interests in the arts, sciences, photography, and engineering. 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.

第1段

威廉·亨利·帕金（William Henry Perkin）出生于1838年3月12日，英国伦敦。作为一个男孩，帕金对艺术、科学、摄影和工程学产生了浓厚的兴趣。但是，正是在他祖父家里偶然发现了一个破旧但功能完好的实验室，这让年轻人对化学产生了浓厚的热情。

第2段

As a student at the city of London School, Perkin became immersed in the study at chemistry. His talent and devotion to the subject were perceived by his teachers, Thomas Hall, who encouraged him to attend a series of lectures given by the eminent scientist Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution. Those speeches fired the young chemistry’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.

第2段

作为伦敦市学校的学生，帕金沉浸在化学的学习中。他的才华和对这门学科的热爱得到了他的老师托马斯·霍尔（Thomas Hall）的认可，后者鼓励他参加由著名科学家迈克尔·法拉第在皇家学会举行的一系列讲座。这些讲座进一步激发了年轻化学家的热情，他随后进入了皇家化学学院，于1853年15岁时成功入学。

第3段

At the time of Perkin’s enrolment, the Royal College of Chemistry was headed by the noted German chemist August Wilhelm Hofmann. Perkin’s scientific gifts soon caught Hofmann’s attention and, within two years, he became Hofmann’s youngest assistant. Not long after that, Perkin made the scientific breakthrough that would bring him both fame and fortune.

第3段

帕金入学时，皇家化学学院由著名的德国化学家奥古斯特·威廉·霍夫曼（August Wilhelm Hofmann）领导。不久之后，帕金的科学才能引起了霍夫曼的注意，两年内，他成为霍夫曼最年轻的助手。此后不久，帕金取得了科学上的突破，这使他声名大噪并获得了财富。

第4段

At the time, quinine was the only viable medical treatment for malaria. 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. 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.

第4段

当时，奎宁是治疗疟疾的唯一可行药物。这种药物是从南美洲产地的金鸡纳树皮中提取的，到1856年，对该药物的需求已经超过了现有的供应。因此，当霍夫曼偶尔提到希望找到奎宁的合成替代品时，并不奇怪他的学生被激发起了接受这一挑战的动力。

第5段

During his vacation in 1856, Perkin spent his time in the laboratory on the top floor of his family’s house. He was attempting to manufacture quinine from aniline, an inexpensive and readily available coal tar waste product. Despite his best efforts, however, he did not end up with quinine. Instead, he produced a mysterious dark sludge. Luckily, Perkin’s scientific training and nature prompted him to investigate the substance further. Incorporating potassium dichromate and alcohol into the aniline at various stages of the experimental process, he finally produced a deep purple solution. And, proving the truth of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur’s words ‘chance favours only the prepared mind’, Perkin saw the potential of his unexpected find.

第5段

1856年暑假期间，帕金将他的时间花在了家里顶楼的实验室里。他试图从苯胺中制造奎宁，苯胺是一种廉价且易得的煤焦油废料。尽管竭尽全力，但他最终没有得到奎宁。相反，他产生了一种神秘的黑色淤泥。幸运的是，帕金的科学训练和天性促使他进一步调查这种物质。在实验过程的不同阶段加入了重铬酸钾和酒精，他最终产生了一种深紫色的溶液。正如著名科学家路易·巴斯德所说的“机会只垂青于有准备头脑的人”，帕金看到了他意外发现的潜力。

第6段

Historically, textile dyes were made from such natural sources as plants and animal excretions. Some of these, such as the glandular mucus of snails, were difficult to obtain and outrageously expensive. Indeed, the purple colour extracted from a snail was once so costly that in society at the time only the rich could afford it. Further, natural dyes tend to be muddy in hue and fade quickly. It was against this backdrop that Perkin’s discovery was made.

第6段

历史上，纺织染料都是从植物和动物排泄物等天然来源中提取的。其中一些来自蜗牛腺体粘液的染料非常难以获取且价格昂贵。事实上，从蜗牛提取的紫色染料曾经如此昂贵，以至于当时的社会只有富人能够负担得起。此外，天然染料容易呈现混浊的色调并且褪色迅速。正是在这样的背景下，帕金的发现产生了重要意义。

第7段

Perkin quickly grasped that his purple solution could be used to colour fabric, thus making it the world’s first synthetic dye. Realising the importance of this breakthrough, he lost no time in patenting it. 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.

第7段

帕金很快意识到他的紫色溶液可以用于染色，从而使其成为世界上第一个合成染料。意识到这一突破的重要性，他迅速申请了专利。但是，帕金对他的发现做出的最迷人反应可能是他几乎立即意识到新染料具有商业上的可能性。

第8段

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). 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. So, over the fierce objections of his mentor Hofmann, he left college to give birth to the modern chemical industry.

第8段

帕金最初将他的染料命名为泰里安紫（Tyrian Purple），但后来通常被称为紫罗兰色（源自用于制作紫罗兰色的植物的法语）。他征求了苏格兰染料厂主罗伯特·普拉尔（Robert Pullar）的建议，后者向他保证，如果颜色保持稳定（即不褪色）且成本相对较低，生产染料将非常值得。因此，尽管导师霍夫曼强烈反对，他离开了学院，孕育出了现代化学工业。

第9段

With the help of his father and brother, Perkin set up a factory not far from London. 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. The company received a commercial boost from the Empress Eugenie of France, when she decided the new colour flattered her. Very soon, Mauve was the necessary shade for all the fashionable ladies in that country. Not to be outdone, England’s Queen Victoria also appeared in public wearing a mauve gown, thus making it all the rate in England as well. The dye was bold and fast, and the public clamoured for more. Perkin went back to the drawing board.

第9段

在他父亲和兄弟的帮助下，帕金在离伦敦不远的地方建立了一家工厂。利用伦敦煤气街灯几乎无限的廉价且丰富的副产品——煤焦油，这家染料厂于1857年开始生产世界上第一批合成染料的材料。法国皇后欧仁妮决定使用这种新颜色，使该公司受到商业推动。很快，紫罗兰色成为该国所有时尚女性必备的颜色。为了不被落后，英国的维多利亚女王也穿着紫罗兰色的礼服公开露面，从而使其在英国也成为流行趋势。这种染料色彩鲜艳且牢固，公众迫切需要更多。帕金回到了实验室。

第10段

Although Perkin’s fame was achieved and fortune assured by his first discovery, the chemist continued his research. Among other dyes he developed and introduced were aniline red (1859) and aniline black (1863) and, in the late 1860s, Perkin’s synthetic dye discoveries had outcomes far beyond the merely decorative. The dyes also became vital to medical research in many ways. For instance, they were used to stain previously invisible microbes and bacteria, allowing researchers to identify such bacilli as tuberculosis, cholera, and anthrax. Artificial dyes continue to play a crucial role today. And, in what would have been particularly pleasing to Perkin, their current use is in the search for a vaccine against malaria.

第10段

尽管帕金通过他的第一次发现获得了声望并确保了财富，但这位化学家继续进行研究。他开发并推出了其他染料，如苯胺红（1859年）和苯胺黑（1863年）。到19世纪60年代末，帕金的合成染料发现产生的结果远远超出了仅仅装饰方面。这些染料在许多方面对医学研究也变得至关重要。例如，它们被用于染色以前看不见的微生物和细菌，使研究人员能够鉴定结核菌、霍乱和炭疽菌等杆菌。人造染料在今天仍然发挥着至关重要的作用。而且，对于帕金而言，令人特别高兴的是，它们目前被用于寻找治疗疟疾的疫苗。