History of Indigo in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: May 2, 2026

Indigo refers to a range of blue hues, derived from the ancient dye of the same name. The term encompasses the dye's color, fabrics dyed with it, and a spectral color, notably one of Newton's seven rainbow colors. It also represents a color wheel region, including shades of blue, ultramarine, and green-blue. In the digital age, "indigo" has been adopted to describe certain purple and violet hues in HTML web page specifications.

1914: Indigo remains dominant color of French military coats

In 1914, indigo remained the dominant color of French military coats.

1980: J.W.G. Hunt divides the spectrum

In 1980, J.W.G. Hunt divided the spectrum between violet and blue at about 450 nm, with no hue specifically named indigo.

1992: Publication of Marina Warner's novel Indigo

In 1992, Marina Warner's novel Indigo, a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, was published, featuring the production of indigo dye by Sycorax.

Indigo

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1999: Crayola releases an indigo crayon

In 1999, Crayola released an indigo crayon, with the Crayola website using the hex code #4F49C6 to approximate the crayon color.

2001: Crayola's iron indigo crayon

In 2001, the iron indigo crayon by Crayola is portrayed using hex code #184FA1.

2004: Crayola's indigo crayon color

In 2004, the indigo crayon color by Crayola is depicted by #5D76CB.

2005: 'Tropical Indigo' in Guía de coloraciones

In 2005, the color 'Tropical Indigo' is identified as añil in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a widely popular color dictionary in the Hispanophone realm.