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Aristotle Comes up With the Idea of 'Spontaneous Generation'
Aristotle was one of the first scientists to believe in spontaneous generation and believed the spontaneous generation could occur from non-living things. -
William Harvey Contradicts this Idea
William Harvey later contradicted this belief by introducing the impossibility of spontaneous generation and by stating that all animals, including mammals, originate from eggs. -
Francesco Redi Disproves this Idea
Francesco Redi also disproved this theory by conducting an experiment that showed that maggots can only grow on meat when the jar that it is placed in, is exposed to air. Jars that had been sealed with cheesecloth contained no flies. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek Observed Bacteria
Anton van Leeuwenhoek observed bacteria. Leeuwenhoek's discoveries renew the question of spontaneous generation in microorganisms. This happened when the microscope was first invented, which allowed scientists to view smaller organisms. Microorganisms were something they had never seen before which lead them to question the source of these organisms. The idea of spontaneous generation was used as an explanation for this unusual occurrence. -
Lazzaro Spallanzani Contradicts this Idea
Lazzaro Spallanzani again contradicted spontaneous generation by showing that no organism can grown in a broth if is heated to kill any organisms and left to cool in a stoppered flask. Additionally, he proved that eggs and semen are crucial to the fertilization in mammals. -
Louis Pasteur Proves That This Idea is Wrong and Ends the Conflict
Louis Pasteur disproved the spontaneous generation of cellular life. He did this when the Paris Academy of Sciences held a competition and offered a prize to whoever could solve this conflict. Louis Pasteur won the price when he presented his experiment, which went against the idea of spontaneous generation.
