-
350
BCE
Aristotle was a Greek scientist and philosopher. He published “History of Animals” and “Generation of Animals”. He also believed that everything was a mixture of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. He believed that there is a “soul” within the thing which allows growth, thinking, movement. -
Jan 1, 600
BCE
The first to suggest the idea of spontaneous generation was a Milesian philosopher by the name of Anaximander. His belief was that everything was created by the elemental nature of the universe. -
Francesco Redi
Francesco Redi was the first to attack spontaneous generation. He believed that maggots could only be born from eggs laid by flies. To test this theory, he put meat in several different containers, some which were open while others were sealed tightly and covered in gauze. As he had believed, maggots only developed in containers that were open, as the flies could only lay eggs inside a container they could enter. -
John Needham
An English clergyman named John Needham offered an experiment that he considered was a definite solution. He proposed to boil the broth in a flask and then seal it to see if microorganisms could grow even after. -
Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani, an Italian priest, wasn’t convinced by Needham’s experiment. Thus, he modified it by sealing the flask before boiling the broth. He found out that no organisms were growing. However, his experiment only proved that spontaneous generation couldn’t occur without air. -
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, finally laid the theory of spontaneous generation to rest. He used a curved neck on his flask, and proved that no organisms can grow even with air as they are resting at the bottom of the neck. His experiment proved that microorganisms are everywhere, even in air.
