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460 BCE - 370 BCE: Life of the Greek philosopher Democritus, often credited as the founder of alchemy.
1 CE - 800 CE: Alchemy is particualrly prevalent in Roman Egypt.
200 CE - 400 CE: The oldest surviving Greek and Latin texts concerning alchemy.
300 CE: The Egyptian alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis is active.
1150 CE: Knowledge of alchemy from the Muslim world filters through to Europe.
1493 CE - 1541 CE: Life of the Germanic alchemist who called himself Paracelsus.
1561 CE: The Italian alchemist Isabella Cortese publishes The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese.
1720 CE: Alchemy is by now widely discredited by scientists and has been replaced by chemistry.