Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier(French:[ɑ̃twan lɔʁɑ̃ də lavwazje]UK:/læˈvwʌzieɪ/lav-WUZ-ee-ay,[1]US:/ləˈvwɑːzieɪ/lə-VWAH-zee-ay;[2][3]26 August 1743 – 8 May 1794),[4]alsoAntoine Lavoisierafter theFrench Revolution, was aFrench noblemanandchemistwho was central to the 18th-centurychemical revolutionand who had a large influence on both thehistory of chemistryand thehistory of biology.[5]It is generally accepted that Lavoisier’s great accomplishments in chemistry stem largely from his changing the science from aqualitativeto aquantitativeone. Lavoisier is most noted for his discovery of the roleoxygenplays incombustion. He recognized and named oxygen (1778) andhydrogen(1783), and opposed thephlogiston theory. Lavoisier helped construct themetric system, wrote the first extensivelist of elements, and helped to reformchemical nomenclature. He predicted the existence ofsilicon(1787)[6]and discovered that, althoughmattermay change its form or shape,its mass always remains the same.
Lavoisier was a powerful member of a number ofaristocraticcouncils, and an administrator of theFerme générale. TheFerme généralewas one of the most hated components of theAncien Régimebecause of the profits it took at the expense of the state, the secrecy of the terms of its contracts, and the violence of its armed agents.[7]All of these political and economic activities enabled him to fund his scientific research. At the height of the French Revolution, he was charged with tax fraud and selling adulteratedtobacco, and wasguillotined.
