Antuan Lavoisier French chemist Date of Birth: 28.08.1743 Country: France

Biography of Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine Lavoisier was a French chemist who held various public and governmental positions during his lifetime. He was born on August 26, 1743, in Paris, to a family of lawyers. His father wanted him to become a lawyer as well, so after finishing college at the Mazarin College, Antoine enrolled in the Law Faculty of the University of Paris. However, his interest in natural sciences led him to abandon law, and after completing his studies, he pursued geology, physics, and chemistry.

In 1765, Lavoisier presented his first scientific paper to the French Academy. The following year, his work on the illumination of the streets of Paris won him a gold medal from the Academy. In 1767, he embarked on a geological expedition across several mountainous regions of France with the renowned mineralogist and family friend, Guétear. They collected and studied rock specimens, and in 1768, Lavoisier produced the first geological map of France. At the age of 25, he was elected as an adjunct to the Paris Academy of Sciences.

In 1770, Lavoisier began his research on combustion, and two years later, he presented his findings to the Academy. His observations showed that the mass of sulfur and phosphorus increased during combustion in air, while the mass of lead oxide decreased upon reduction to metal. Based on these studies, he formulated the oxygen theory of combustion, which followed Joseph Priestley's discovery of "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen) in 1774. In 1777, Lavoisier introduced the term "oxygen" and presented his new views on combustion to the Academy of Sciences.

In 1783, Lavoisier and French military engineer J. Meunier replicated Henry Cavendish's experiments and demonstrated that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, rather than an element. They successfully synthesized water in 1785. In 1786, Lavoisier, together with Berthollet and other French scientists, developed a rational system of chemical nomenclature, the principles of which are still used today. Lavoisier was one of the founders of thermochemistry. In 1783, he and Laplace described their constructed ice calorimeter and determined the heat of combustion for various substances. Lavoisier also showed that respiration involves the absorption of oxygen and the production of carbon dioxide, similar to combustion. In 1783-1784, Lavoisier and Laplace established that this process is a source of heat for animals.

In 1768, Lavoisier became a member of the "Farmers-General," an organization of financiers who collected government taxes. Through this position, he accumulated considerable wealth, which allowed him to undertake several social and economic projects. He held various public and governmental positions, including director of the Department of Agriculture (1775), deputy of the Assembly in Orleans (1787), member of the Commission of Weights and Measures (1790), commissioner of the National Treasury (1791), and member of the Commission on Agriculture (1785).

In 1789, the French Revolution erupted, and in 1791, the government decided to dissolve the "Farmers-General." In August 1792, Lavoisier lost access to the laboratory at the Royal Arsenal. In November 1793, the Revolutionary Committee ordered the arrest of all members of the "Farmers-General." Lavoisier's trial took place on May 2, 1794, and he, along with 27 other members, was sentenced to death. Lavoisier requested a few days' delay in the execution of his sentence to present the results of his latest chemical experiments, but his request was denied. The judge declared, "The Republic has no need for geniuses." Lavoisier was guillotined on the Place de la Révolution on May 8, 1794. His biographer, Lagrange, wrote, "It takes only a second to sever a head, but it is impossible to find a replacement for it in hundreds of years."