Historical Chronology WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGYproduction of oxygen, and that carbon dioxide is taken
in by plants in the daytime and given off at night.1780 Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794), French
chemist, and Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827),
French astronomer and mathematician, collaborate
to demonstrate that respiration is a form of combus-
tion. Breathing, like combustion, liberates heat, car-
bon dioxide, and water.1780 George Adams (1750–1795), English engineer, engi-
neers the first microtome. This mechanical instru-
ment cuts thin slices for examination under a
microscope, thus replacing the imprecise procedure
of cutting with a hand-held razor.1789 Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu publishes his Plant
Genera,, a widely acclaimed book that incorporates
the Linnaean system of binomial nomenclature. This
book comes to be regarded as the foundation of the
natural system of botanical classification. Jussieu
classifies plants on the basis of cotyledons, and
divides all plants into acotyledons, monocotyledons,
and dicotyledons.1796 Edward Jenner (1749–1823) uses cowpox virus to
develop a smallpox vaccine.1796 Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin and
Francis Galton, publishes his Zoonomia. In this
work, Darwin argues that evolutionary changes are
brought about by the mechanism primarily associ-
ated with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, i.e., the direct
influence of the environment on the organism.1797 Georges-Léopold-Chrétien-Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier
establishes modern comparative zoology with the
publication of his first book, Basic Outline for a
Natural History of Animals.Cuvier studies the ways
in which an animal’s function and habits determine its
form. He argues that form always followed function
and that the reverse relationship did not occur.1798 Government legislation is passed to establish hospi-
tals in the United States devoted to the care of ill
mariners. This initiative leads to the establishment of
a Hygenic Laboratory that eventually grows to
become the National Institutes of Health.1800 Marie-François-Xavier Bichat publishes his first
major work, Treatise on Tissues,which establishes
histology as a new scientific discipline. Bichat dis-
tinguishes 21 kinds of tissue and relates particular
diseases to particular tissues.1802 Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet de Lamarck
and Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus propose the term
“biology” to denote a new general science of living
beings that would supercede studies in natural history.1802 John Dalton introduces modern atomic theory into
the science of chemistry.1809 Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet de Lamarck
introduces the term “invertebrate” in his Zoological
Philosophy,, which contains the first influential sci-
entific theory of evolution. He attempts to classify
organisms by function rather than by structure and is
the first to use genealogical trees to show relation-
ships among species.1812 Kirchoff identifies catalysis and mechanisms of cat-
alytic reactions.1817 Georges-Léopold-Chrétien-Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier
publishes his major work, The Animal Kingdom,
which expands and improves Linnaeus’s classifica-
tion system. Cuvier groups related classes into a
broader category called a phylum. He is also the first
to extend this system of classification to fossils.1818 William Charles Wells suggests the theory of natural
selection in an essay dealing with human color vari-
ations. He notes that dark skinned people are more
resistant to tropical diseases than lighter skinned
people. Wells also calls attention to selection carried
out by animal breeders. Jerome Lawrence, James
Cowles Prichard, and others make similar sugges-
tions, but do not develop their ideas into a coherent
and convincing theory of evolution.1820 First United States Pharmacopoeiais published.1824 René–Joachim-Henri Dutrochet suggests that tissues
are composed of living cells.1826 James Cowles Prichard presents his views on evolu-
tion in the second edition of his book Researches into
the Physical History of Man(first edition 1813).
These ideas about evolution are suppressed in later
editions.1828 Friedrich Wöhler synthesizes urea. This is generally
regarded as the first organic chemical produced in
the laboratory, and an important step in disproving
the idea that only living organisms can produce
organic compounds. Work by Wöhler and others
establish the foundations of organic chemistry and
biochemistry.1828 Karl Ernst von Baer publishes a book entitled On the
Developmental History of Animals (2 volumes,
1828–1837), in which he demonstrates that embry-
ological development follows essentially the same
pattern in a wide variety of mammals. Early mam-
malian embryos are very similar, but they diverge at
later stages of gestation. Von Baer’s work establishes
the modern field of comparative embryology.1828 Robert Brown observes a small body within the
cells of plant tissue and calls it the “nucleus.” He646•
womi_bm 5/6/03 1:30 PM Page 646