Antoine Lavoisier (Father of Modern Chemistry) 1743 - 1794

Antoine Lavosier, called the father of modern chemistry, was born in Paris, France.  He studied law, but his passion was science.  At age 25, he was elected to France's Academy of Sciences.  In 1775 he became a commissioner of the Royal Gunpowder and Saltpeter administration located in the Paris Arsenal.  There he set up a laboratory where he performed experiments that led to discoveries about chemistry and the scientific method. Lavosier proposed that breathing and combustion were chemical reactions with oxygen.  He weighed substances before and after an experiment, so he was able to state the important scientific principle of the law of conservation of mass: Matter is neither created nor destroyed during a chemical reaction.  It only changes form.  His Elementary Treatise on Chemistry advocated a systematic approach to chemistry. Lavosier conducted experiments using standards of care and precision that went far beyond those of most of his contemporaries.  He invented laboratory equipment to make experimentation easier and helped set up the metric system of weights and measures. Lavosier lived during a time of great political upheaval - The French Revolution, which began in 1789 when the monarchy was overthrown.  Lavosier participated in some of the revolution's reforms.  But by 1794 the revolutionary government was controlled by extremists, and anyone who was ever associated with the monarchy was considered a criminal.  Because Lavosier had worked for the royal tax-collection authorities early in his career, he was charged with taking money illegally from the people.  He was tried, sentenced to death, and on May 8, 1794, beheaded.  A famous mathematician said, "It required only a moment to sever that head, but perhaps a century will not be sufficient to produce another like it."