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Limits RegistryIn 1828, German chemist Friedrich Wohler synthesized urea by heating ammonium cyanate, an inorganic salt, without any involvement of a living organism — an event now regarded as the symbolic beginning of the end for 'vitalism', the then-prevailing belief that organic compounds could only be produced by living things through a special vital force.
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In 1828, German chemist Friedrich Wohler synthesized urea by heating ammonium cyanate, an inorganic salt, without any involvement of a living organism — an event now regarded as the symbolic beginning of the end for 'vitalism', the then-prevailing belief that organic compounds could only be produced by living things through a special vital force.
The first documented laboratory synthesis of an organic compound (urea) starting entirely from inorganic precursors, without any biological organism or living tissue involved in its production.
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Limits Registry. LR-FIRST-SYNTHESIS-OF-UREA-VITALISM. First laboratory synthesis of an organic compound from inorganic starting materials. 2026.