The Royal College of Chemistry (RCC) was a college originally based on Oxford Street in central London, England. It operated between 1845 and 1872.
The original building was designed by the English architect James Lockyer in 1846 with the foundation stone being laid by Albert, Prince Consort on June 16, 1846.[1][2]
The young William Henry Perkin studied and worked at the college under von Hofmann, but resigned his position after discovering the first synthetic dye, mauveine, in 1856. Perkin's discovery was prompted by his work with von Hofmann on the substance aniline, derived from coal tar, and it was this breakthrough which sparked the synthetic dye industry, a boom which some historians have labelled 'the second chemical revolution'.[citation needed]
The college was merged into the Royal School of Mines in 1853. It was the first constituent college of Imperial College London and eventually became the Imperial College Chemistry Department.[3]
References
^"The Late Mr James Lockyer, architect", The Builder, 19 June 1875, p. 544.