Answer
Mikhail Tsvet, a Russian botanist, first described the separation technique in 1903, which was later refined by Richard Willstätter. Tsvet's technique, known as chromatography, involved the separation of plant pigments using a column packed with an adsorbent material. This marked a significant advancement in the field of separation science and paved the way for the development of modern chromatographic techniques widely used in various scientific disciplines.