Page "Chemical reaction" Paragraph 12

Regarding the organic chemistry, it was long believed that compounds obtained from living organisms were too complex to be obtained synthetically.

According to the concept of vitalism, organic matter was endowed with a " vital force " and distinguished from inorganic materials.

This separation was ended however by the synthesis of urea from inorganic precursors by Friedrich Wöhler in 1828.

Other chemists who brought major contributions to organic chemistry include Alexander William Williamson with his synthesis of ethers and Christopher Kelk Ingold, who, among many discoveries, established the mechanisms of substitution reactions.