Experiment conducted by Louis Pasteur 

Louis Pasteur's experiments in the mid-19th century played a crucial role in debunking the theory of spontaneous generation, which was a prevailing belief at the time. The theory of spontaneous generation suggests that living organisms could arise from non-living matter under certain conditions. For example, it was commonly believed that maggots could spontaneously generate from decaying meat or that microorganisms could arise spontaneously in broth.

Pasteur's experiments effectively demonstrated that living organisms do not arise spontaneously from non-living matter but instead come from pre-existing life forms.