Genes govern plants, animals, and humans. The gene is the atom of biology. How did this model, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1953, come about? What objections exist against this model? This book for the first time traces the origins of this concept through the original texts of the involved researchers, from the emergence of biology in 1800, through the founding of genetics in 1906, to the present day. The understanding of the liveliness of the living changed in accordance with the self-perception of science. A physiological biology replaced natural philosophy. Life, organisms, and genes are defined within the laws of chemistry and physics. "The Gene and Its History" illuminates the consequences for our perception of humanity and nature.