Medieval alchemist Magister Salernus from the city of Salerno in southern Italy develops an initial conception of the process for the fractional distillation of alcohol. This process features the separation of mixtures by their different boiling points. This process is initally used as a tool for wine distillation, but will go on to be a staple in industrial chemical processes. Image source: Public Domain, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Fractional_distillat...