TIL: In 1863, a professor named William Henry Perkin was trying to formulate a cure for Malaria but instead he inadvertently created the first commercialized synthetic dye.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Perkin

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/156jf88/til_in_1863_a_professor_named_william_henry/