Lavoisier, Antoine

Lavoisier, Antoine (-Laurent)

(born Aug. 26, 1743, Paris, France—died May 8, 1794, Paris) French chemist, regarded as the father of modern chemistry. His work on combustion, oxidation (see oxidation-reduction), and gases (especially those in air) overthrew the phlogiston doctrine, which held that a component of matter (phlogiston) was given off by a substance in the process of combustion. That theory had held sway for a century. He formulated the principle of the conservation of mass (i.e., that the weights of the reactants must add up to the weights of the products) in chemical reactions, clarified the distinction between elements and compounds, and was instrumental in devising the modern system of chemical nomenclature (naming oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon). He was among the first to use quantitative procedures in chemical investigations, and his experimental ingenuity, exact methods, and cogent reasoning, along with the resultant discoveries, revolutionized chemistry. He also worked on physical problems, especially heat, and on fermentation, respiration, and animals. Independently wealthy, he had a simultaneous career as a public servant of remarkable versatility in areas including finance, economics, agriculture, education, and social welfare. A reformer and political liberal, he was active in the French Revolution but came under increasing attack from extremists and was guillotined.