Friedrich Wöhler
A chemist who shattered the boundary between living and non-living matter by synthesizing urea, a feat that redefined organic chemistry.
1800–1882 (age 82)·German chemist·Birthday: July 31
Biography
Friedrich Wöhler began his career intending to be a physician, but the allure of chemistry pulled him into the laboratory. Studying under the great analytical chemist Berzelius, he initially focused on inorganic compounds, becoming the first to isolate pure beryllium and yttrium metals. His world-shaking moment came in 1828, almost by accident, while attempting to prepare ammonium cyanate. Instead, he created urea, an organic compound previously thought to be generated only by living organisms. This single experiment challenged the doctrine of vitalism—the idea that a 'life force' was necessary for organic creation—and opened the floodgates for synthetic organic chemistry. A dedicated teacher at Göttingen for decades, Wöhler shaped a generation of chemists, not through grand pronouncements, but through meticulous experiment and a quiet, collaborative spirit that made the impossible seem merely difficult.
#1 When Friedrich Was Born
The biggest hits of 1800
Friedrich's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1800Born
1805Started school
1813Became a teenager
1816Could drive
1818Could vote
1821Turned 21
1830Turned 30
1840Turned 40
1850Turned 50
1860Turned 60
1870Turned 70
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1880Turned 80
Edison patents the incandescent light bulb
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1882Died at 82
First electrical power plant opens in New York
President: Chester A. Arthur
Key Achievements
- Synthesized urea from inorganic materials in 1828, fundamentally challenging the theory of vitalism in chemistry.
- First to isolate the elemental metals beryllium and yttrium in pure form.
- Discovered silicon nitride and silane, key compounds in the study of silicon chemistry.
- Co-discovered the Wöhler synthesis, a method for creating organic compounds from cyanates.
Did You Know?
He was a prolific correspondent and close friend of fellow chemist Justus von Liebig, with their letters forming a key record of 19th-century chemical discovery.
Wöhler mentored a young Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev, who would later create the periodic table of elements.
He translated many of Berzelius's influential works from Swedish into German, greatly spreading his teacher's ideas.
“I can no longer, so to speak, hold my chemical water and must tell you that I can make urea without needing a kidney, whether of man or dog.”
