The answer to this question can be found in a publication by Simon Garfield "Mauve: How one man invented a colour that changed the world”, which can be found among a multitude of other publications in the estate of the professor of restoration and former rector of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden Ulrich Schießl, now part of the library of the academy.
The book tells the biography of the British chemist William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), who in 1856, while trying to produce quinine synthetically by oxidising allyltoluidine, accidentally invented the mauveine dye (Perkin violet, aniline purple) by reacting aniline with potassium dichromate. The discovery is considered to be the first invention of a synthetically produced dye. The book also provides an overview of the establishment of chemistry as a research and teaching subject, the founding of the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 and the role of chemistry in the increasing industrialisation in the country.
It is due to Perkin's artistic interest that the dye has gained such an important role. As a student of August Wilhelm Hofmann (1818-192), who obtained his doctorate in 1841 with a thesis on the "Chemical investigation of organic bases in coal tar" at the University of Giessen under Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), Perkins came into contact with the elemental analysis of the aniline (kyanol) and quinoline (leucol) contained in coal tar, which was originally intended for the production of medicine. On Liebig's recommendation and at the request of Albert, the English prince consort, Hoffmann accepted a professorship at the Chemical Institute in London, and was further entrusted with the establishment of the Royal College of Chemistry, subsequently taking over as its first director. He originally gave very little importance to the discovery of the dye. However, Perkin prevailed against the will of his teacher and secured a patent for his discovery in the same year. He then founded a chemical factory for the production of tar dyes (aniline dyes). As early as 1857, mauveine was produced industrially because it was particularly suitable for dyeing silk, and later being also used to dye other natural fibres such as cotton and wool. Non-textile applications, such as paper dyeing or food dyeing, followed. A rapid development of the chemistry of tar dyes began, which led to the establishment of many new production facilities. Whereas tar had previously only been considered a worthless waste product of coke production from coal, the discoveries made it the most important starting material for industrial organic chemistry.
In 1956, on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the colour mauve, the cosmetics company Clairol launched a new product: Miss Clairol. It was the first hair dye for domestic use that was simply applied like a shampoo. Now nothing stood in the way of individuality and diversity.
