Urea was also the first organic compound ever synthesised. In 1828, Friedrich Wöhler synthesised urea from inorganic compounds (lead cyanate and ammonium hydroxide). This was a landmark achievement: until then only living organisms were believed to be able to produce organic compounds, and these compounds were thought to be special and to require a ‘vital force’ to make them. Wöhler bridged the gap between the living and non-living worlds. He didn’t receive a Nobel Prize for his discovery though, because the Nobel Prize did not exist at that time. Today, urea is synthesised in vast quantities: it is used to make plastics and as a cheap nitrogenous fertiliser.