Synthesis of Urea
- When
- 1828
- Where
- Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
Friedrich Wöhler described the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea in 1828, a reaction often cited as the start of modern organic chemistry.
The reaction involves a double displacement to form ammonium cyanate. Wöhler's work contradicted the belief that organic compounds could only be produced by living organisms due to a 'life force'. However, historians dispute whether this synthesis directly discredited vitalism, as ammonium cyanate is itself an organic compound. The passages place Wöhler teaching chemistry at the Gewerbeschule in Berlin from 1826 to 1831, making Berlin a plausible locality for the 1828 synthesis, though they do not state the synthesis site itself.
Sources
- Wöhler synthesis Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-23
- Friedrich Wöhler Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-29
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.