| Authorised form of name | Perkin; Sir; William Henry (1838 - 1907) |
| Dates | 1838 - 1907 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | King David's Lane, Shadwell, London, England |
| Date of birth | 12 March 1838 |
| Place of death | Sudbury, Middlesex |
| Date of death | 14/07/1907 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
Christ Church graveyard, Harrow, Middlesex |
| Occupation | Chemist |
| Research field | Synthetic organic chemistry |
| Physical organic chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
City of London School (1851-1853); Royal College of Chemistry (from 1853)
Career:
Set up a laboratory in his own home to study organic chemistry (1854); discovered mauve (1856) and continued to discover and market synthetic dyes; set up a manufactory in Greenford Green to make mauve
Honours:
Kt 1906
Memberships:
FCS (President)
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 07/06/1866 |
| Royal Society activity | Medals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1879; Davy Medal 1889 |
| Relationships | Youngest son of George Fowler Perkin, builder, and his wife Sarah Cuthbert.
Married: 1) (13 September 1859) Jemima Harriet Lisset (died 1862); their sons were William Henry Perkin (FRS 1890) and Arthur George Perkin (FRS 1903); 2) (1866) Alexandrine Caroline, daughter of Ivan Herman Mollwoe |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc Series A 1907-1908 vol 80 pp xxxviii-lix signed by R M
Notes:
DNB does not specify location of Shadwell; birthplace 'London', 'The Times' 12 March 2001 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/45098313 |
| Royal Society code | NA1162 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| MS/743/1/117 | Letter from William Henry Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, to [John Hall] Gladstone | 19 July 1889 |
| MS/743/1/118 | Letter from William Henry Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, to [John Hall] Gladstone | 25 October 1889 |
| IM/Maull/003516 | Perkin, Sir William Henry | nd |
| MS/743/1/119 | Letter from William Henry Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, to [John Hall] Gladstone | 1 November 1889 |
| MS/743/1/116 | Letter from William Henry Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, to [John Hall] Gladstone | 13 July 1889 |
| IM/Maull/003515 | Perkin, Sir Wiliam Henry | nd |
| NLB/3/872 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to the Honorable C W Fremantle | 1 November 1889 |
| NLB/3/877 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Dr W H Perkin, Fellow of the Royal Society | 31 October 1889 |
| NLB/8/899 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to Dr William Henry Perkin, Fellow of the Royal Society | 19 January 1894 |
| NLB/30/492 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor William Henry Perkin, Fellow of the Royal Society | 3 April 1905 |
| NLB/35/474 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir William Perkin, Fellow of the Royal Society | 5 June 1907 |
| NLB/35/764 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Messrs Harrison & Sons | 15 July 1907 |
| NLB/34/645 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Professor William Henry Perkin Junior, Fellow of the Royal Society | 21 February 1907 |
| NLB/36/720 | Copy letter from Archibald Geikie, to Professor Raphael Meldola, Fellow of the Royal Society | 6 December 1907 |
| NLB/37/417 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Professor [Joseph] Larmor, Secretary of the Royal Society | 16 March 1908 |
| NLB/37/478 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to F M Perkin, Polytechnic Institute, Borough Road, SE | 25 March 1908 |
| MS/427/2 | Copy letter from [George Gabriel] Stokes, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Lieut Gen. [Henry Frederick] Ponsonby | 6 November 1879 |
| MS/373/1/118 | Testimonial by William Henry Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, supporting Thomas Edward Thorpe | 23 April 1874 |
| EC/1866/09 | Perkin, Sir William Henry: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| RR/11/34 | Referee's report by William Henry Perkin, on a paper 'Constitution of the terpenes camphors and camphor acid' by John Norman Collie | 24 July 1891 |
| RR/5/178 | Referee's report by Alexander William Williamson, on a paper 'On mauve or aniline-purple' by William Henry Perkin | 19 November 1863 |
| AP/38/11 | Paper, 'On some new colouring matters' by Arthur H [Herbert] Church and William H [Henry] Perkin | 1856 |
| RR/5/179 | Referee's report by William Allen Miller, on a paper 'On mauve or aniline-purple' by William Henry Perkin | 16 March 1864 |
| MC/16/85 | Letter from [William Henry] Perkin, The Chestnuts, Sudbury, Harrow, to [Michael] Foster | 22 January 1894 |
| MC/16 | Volume 16 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1893-1896 |
| MC/23/93 | Letter from [Martin Onslow] Forster, Chemical Society, Burlington House, London, to Robert Harrison, Assistant Secretary, Royal Society, Burlington House | 3 April 1908 |
| NLB/37/690 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr M [Martin] O [Onslow] Foster, Fellow of the Royal Society | 1 May 1908 |
| MC/23/92 | Letter from [Martin Onslow] Forster, Chemical Society, Burlington House, London, to the Secretary, Royal Society, Burlington House | 20 March 1908 |
| NLB/37/310 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to F M Perkin, Borough Polytechnic Institute, 103 Borough Road, SE | 28 February 1908 |
| MC/23/344 | Letter from [Frederick] Mollwo Perkin, Borough Polytechnic Institute, 103 Borough Road, to the [Royal Society] | 26 February 1908 |
| MC/23/343 | Letter from [Frederick] Mollwo Perkin, Borough Polytechnic Institute, 103 Borough Road, to the [Royal Society] | 8 February 1908 |
| MC/23/345 | Letter from [Frederick] Mollwo Perkin, Polytechnic Institute, Borough Road, SE, to [Robert] Harrison, The Royal Society, Burlington House | 24 March 1908 |
| MC/23 | Volume 23 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society | 1908 |
| MC/27/249 | Letter from Rudolph Messel, 147 Victoria Street, S.W, to [Robert] Harrison, [Assistant Secretary], [Royal Society] | 5 June 1912 |