Although numerous chemistry texts exist before it, Alchemia, published by Andreas Libavius in 1597, is considered to be the first organized chemistry textbook. Libavius, born in Halle, Germany, in 1555, was a chemist and a medical doctor, and also served as a schoolmaster at the end of his life. In addition to his noteworthy textbook, Libavius is significant in the history of chemistry for further advancing the discipline away from the realm of magic, the occult, and alchemy toward a teachable, logical, and scientific discipline.