I suspect chemistry was playing about with automatic (retro)synthesis way earlier than you think: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/bk-1977-0061.ch001 https:

I suspect chemistry was playing about with automatic (retro)synthesis way earlier than you think: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/bk-1977-0061.ch001 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/bk-1977-0061.ch001. I think it was work started in the 60's, and big names worked on it.