me at Giessen, W÷hler remarried. When, by 1836 his work had become well-known, he received an appointment at the George Augustus University in G÷ttingen (Ihde, 1964, p. 264). He remained there until his death on September 23, 1882.
Prior to W÷hler's discoveries, most scientists believed in the concept of "vitalism" and the study of Natural Theology (Williams, 1995, p. XVI). According to these ideas, creation needed a creator. Moreover, during Medieval times, that creator was thought to be a Christian God. As scientists began to formulate laws regarding natural processes, they attempted to find support for such assumptions. The Bridgewater Treatises (cited in Williams, 1995, p. XVI)--a series of scientific works written by several important scientists--asserted that living processes could not be explained by the ordinary laws of chemistry and physics, and that organic chemicals could only be produced by living tissue. The Natural Theologists believed that living tissue imparted a "'force' of vitalism" to organic chemicals (Williams, 1995, p. XVI). Vitality was thought to come from within living bodies. In addition, living bodies were considered to be endowed with vital properties. Furthermore, the Natural Theologists maintained that the force of vitalism could only come from God.
Friedrich W÷hler's work directly challenged these beliefs. In 1828, his discovery that inorganic ammonium cyanate (NH4OCN) could be transformed to organic urea ((NH2)2CO) showed that inorganic and organic chemistry were closely related. This synthesis of vital products marks the beginning of the field of organic chemistry (Berry, 1948, pp. 227-228). Hoffman (cited in Partington, 1964, pp. 258-260) considered "the synthesis of urea" an "epoch-making discovery" (Partington, 1964, pp. 258-260). Furthermore, it should be noted that other scientists did synthesize natural products before W÷hler. For example, in 1826, Hennell produced ethyl...