jan 1, 5000 BC - Alchemy

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Alchemy, typically thought of as transmutation of lead into gold and elixirs of eternal life, is the forefather of modern chemistry. Having existed in ancient times and extending well into the 19th century, alchemy in essence combined basic scientific understanding with a spiritual worldview to labor toward the discovery of immortality. Starting with Egyptian metallurgy endeavors for jewelry, moving on in approx. 322 BC(E) to Greece. From there, the Greeks dabbled in the stereotypical transmutation of lead into silver or gold. However, in the East, alchemists prioritized medical research, looking for a solution to immortality in the case of China, and a panacea against disease in the case of India. It was in the 7th century, however, that scientific focus in the world returned to the Arab world, where the Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (721-815) is credited with the shift from alchemy to chemistry. It was his written work that was translated into Latin and became the basis for plenty of early European (al)chemists, including Paracelsus (1493-1541), who advocated for the progression of chemical medicine.

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