PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — SECTION 11. 45 



further research. It turned out to be a dye-stuff, " Aniline 

 Mauve," or " Tyrian Purple." Further inve.stigation jiaved the 

 way for similar synthetic products. This came just at a time 

 when the chemistry of coal-tar was being developed, and since 

 Benzene was the basis of Perkin's dye, the way was clear for 

 the commercial exploitation of his discoveries. Indeed, the 

 youthful Perkin turned sufficiently utilitarian to start a factor\- 

 at Greenford Green, although his heart was always in research, 

 and in 1874. at the age of 36, he retired from business as a 

 manufacturer to devote himself exclusively to the pursuit of 

 knowledge for its own sake. It is of interest to remember 

 that until 1870 Perkin's works were the only prtxlucers of 

 artificial Alizarin. 



At the time of Perkin's discoveries Britain' was the greatest 

 producer of coal-tar, and was pre-eminent in the dyeing industry. 

 Six years after the discovery of " Aniline Mauve," Plofmann, a 

 a German, wrote in his report on the Lx)ndon Exhibition of 

 1862:— 



" England will, beyond question, at no distant date, become 

 herself the greatest colour-producing country in the world ; nay. 

 by the strangest of revolutions, she may, ere long, send her 

 coal-derived blues to indigo-growing India, her tar-distilled 

 crimsons to cochineal-producing Mexico, and her fossil sub- 

 stitutes for quercitron and safflower to China, Japan, and other 

 countries whence these articles are now derived." 



It tnay well be asked why English manufacturers, with 

 exhibits in frames under their noses, and prophecies such as 

 Hofmann's before them, did not avail themselves of their 

 opportunities, and why England has fallen from her ))remier 

 position in the world of chemical industry. Two causes for 

 the decline are apparent : firstly, the neglect of (jrganic chemistry 

 in the Universities, and, secondly, the total indifference of 

 manufacturers to the practice of research in connection with 

 their own processes. The period belonged to the dark ages 

 of comoulsory Greek, when the Professor of Chemistry at 

 Cambridge was a country clergyman , who nobly came ui> once a 

 vear to give a course of lectures ; when, as Tilden remarks, 

 it was thought verv creditable on his part to do so much. 



Perkin himself, Meldola. Green, and numerous other English 

 chemists, raised their voices in vain again.st the national neglect 

 of chemistry. The neglect continued, and by the early eighties 

 Germany had gained control oi the infant industry. And not 

 only of this industry, for the highly trained research chemists 

 engaged in the laboratory investigation on synthetic dyes 

 developed other lines of research, so that on the outbreak of war 

 Germany had oracticallv the whole trade of the " fine chemicals " 

 (highly priced, finished products) in her hands: a trade so vast 

 that the export value was estimated by Professor Grossman, of 

 Berlin, at Muietv-sevcn and a half million pniinds per annum. 



Fortunately, the dav of neglect is well-nigh over in Britain, 

 and there is a chance that part, at least, of the trade in dye-stuffs 



