Wöhler's synthesis

A synthesis of urea performed by Friedrich Wöhler in 1828. He discovered that urea (CO(NH₂)₂) was formed when a solution of ammonium isocyanate (NH₄NCO) was evaporated. At the time it was believed that organic substances such as urea could be made only by living organisms, and its production from an inorganic compound was a notable discovery. It is sometimes (erroneously) cited as ending the belief in vitalism.