The first person known to divide living things into two main groups—plants and animals—was Aristotle , the ancient Greek philosopher (384–322 BCE).

Quick Scoop

  • Name: Aristotle
  • Era: Ancient Greece, around the 4th century BCE
  • What he did: He classified all living things into two groups: plants and animals , creating one of the earliest recorded biological classification systems.
  • Why it mattered: His approach was a major early step toward scientific taxonomy and influenced how people thought about nature for many centuries.

In simple terms: when you ask, “Who was the first to divide organisms into two groups– plants and animals?” the answer is Aristotle.

Tiny bit of extra context

  • Aristotle grouped living things based on visible features like body structure and way of life.
  • Later scientists, especially Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, built more formal classification systems (like kingdoms, phyla, etc.), but the basic plant–animal split traces back to Aristotle’s work.

TL;DR: The first to divide organisms into two groups, plants and animals, was Aristotle.

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