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Table of Contents
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier is also known as the Father of Modern Chemistry. He is a prominent French chemist who had significant influence in the fields of chemistry and biology. During the 18th century, he was the leading figure in the chemical revolution. Prior to the French Revolution, he also served as a lead financier and public administrator. At the peak of the French Revolution, he fell victim to the Reign of Terror, was arrested and guillotined.
See the fact file below for more information on the Antoine Lavoisier or alternatively, you can download our 42-page Antoine Lavoisier worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
EARLY LIFE
- Antoine Lavoisier was born on August 26, 1743, to a noble family in Paris.
- He was an only child.
- Jean-Antoine Lavoisier, his father, was a lawyer in the Paris Parliament.
- His mother, Émilie Punctis, came from a wealthy family who had a butchery business.
- Antoine’s mother died when he was five years old, but she had left him with a large fortune.
EDUCATION
- Ever since he was a child, he had already shown exceptional intelligence and an affection for the public good.
- Lavoisier began his schooling in 1754 at the age of 11 at the College des Quatre-Nations, a college at the University of Paris.
- In his last two years, he took up general subjects including chemistry, botany, and mathematics.
- Pursuing the same career as his father, he entered law school at the age of 18.
- In 1763, Antoine Lavoisier was awarded a bachelor’s degree.
- However, due to his interest in science, he continued to take science lectures and worked under the authority of a leading naturalist while attending his law lectures.
- He studied geology under the supervision of French naturalist and mineralogist Jean-Étienne Guettard.
- He obtained his license in 1764 but didn’t pursue his practice as a lawyer.
- In the same year, he published his first scientific paper on which he collaborated with Guettard.
- He was also able to read a paper to the elite French Academy of Sciences.
- At the age of 25, he was admitted to the French Academy of Sciences which was France’s leading natural philosophy society.
- With the fortune he had inherited from his mother, he used a part of it to buy a share in the Ferme Générale, a private group that collected various taxes for the government.
- During the Reign of Terror, his participation in collecting taxes did not help his reputation as taxes and poor government reform were the primary instigators during the French Revolution.
MARRIAGE
- He married Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze on December 16, 1771.
- At the time, he was 28 while his wife was 14.
- She played a significant role in Lavoisier’s scientific career.
- She helped him in the laboratory and drew sketches of his experiments.
- She also made a lot of entries in Lavoisier’s laboratory notebooks.
- Marie Anne even translated English and numeric scientific memoirs into French, including Richard Kirwan’s Essay on Phlogiston and Joseph Priestley’s research.
CONTRIBUTIONS
- Lavoisier made significant contributions in the field of science specifically in chemistry.
- He is known for turning chemistry from a qualitative to a quantitative science, the law of conservation of mass, and for his discovery of the role of oxygen in combustion.
- Moreover, he also served as the director of the French Gunpowder Administration from 1775 to 1792.
- He built a laboratory where young chemists from all over Europe could study the “Chemical Revolution.”
- He succeeded in producing more gunpowder by increasing the supply of its components such as saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal and improved methods for granulating the powder.
- France has been self-sufficient in this important military material.
- He also conducted experiments on agricultural production and was an advisor on the financial affairs and banking of the government.
- Lavoisier made a loan to Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours in June 1791 with the purpose of buying printings works so that du Pont could publish a newspaper entitled La Correspondance Patriotique.
- The newspaper was supposed to include reports of debates in the National Constituent Assembly and papers from the Academy of Sciences.
- The revolution interrupted the first newspaper, but Pierre du Pont’s son, E.I. du Pont, had launched Le Republicain, which also published Lavoisier’s latest chemistry texts.
- Lavoisier also joined a commission whose efforts on unifying weights and measures had led to the adoption by the National Convention of the new metric system in August 1793.
- He was removed from the commission on December 1793, together with the mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace and other members due to political reasons.
- A proposal to the National Convention for the reform of French education was one of his last significant works.
- On behalf of several foreign-born scientists, he helped them to be exempt from a mandate which strips all foreigners of possessions and freedom.
AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
- The King of France awarded Lavoisier a gold medal for his work on urban street lighting.
- He worked on the first geological map of France in 1769.
- Apart from being appointed to the French Academy of Sciences in 1768, he was also elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1775.
- Lavoisier’s work was recognized by the American Chemical Society, the Académie des sciences de L’institut de France, and the Société Chimique de France in 1999 as an International Historic Chemical Landmark.
- Published together with his colleagues Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoine François, Comte de Fourcroy, his publication entitled Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award.
- As the French Revolution began in 1789, Antoine Lavoisier saw it as an opportunity to rationalize and improve the nation’s politics and economy.
- This was later changed by the disorder that put the existence of the state at risk.
- In 1792, Antoine Lavoisier was forced to resign from his post on the Gunpowder Commission and move from his house and laboratory at the Royal Arsenal.
- In August 1793, all known societies including the Academy of Sciences were terminated at Abbé Grégoire’s request.
ARREST AND EXECUTION
- Despite his significant contributions to science and services to France, he was arrested on 24 November 1793, together with other former tax farmers.
- Lavoisier and the other Farmers General faced nine accusations of defrauding the state of money owed to it, and of adding water to tobacco before selling it.
- At the age of 50, Lavoisier was convicted and guillotined in Paris on 8 May 1794, along with his 27 co-defendants.
- A well-known mathematician, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, stated: “It took them only an instant to cut off that head, and a hundred years may not produce another like it.”
- Antoine Lavoisier was completely absolved by the French government a year and a half after his execution. His belongings were sent to his widow with a note saying “To the widow of Lavoisier who was falsely convicted.”
Antoine Lavoisier Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Antoine Lavoisier across 42 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Antoine Lavoisier worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier who is also known as the Father of Modern Chemistry.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Antoine Lavoisier Fact File
- Lavoisier Timeline
- Table of Elements
- Text Twist
- Contributions
- Professional Career
- True or False
- Lavoisier Influencers
- Achievements
- Chemical Revolution
- Matching Type
- Story Time!
- Thoughts
- Lavoisier Impacts on Science Today
- What Do You Think?
- Any Questions?
- Quotes Analysis
- Lavoisier Acrostic Poem
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Antoine Lavoisier, and why is he significant in the history of science?
Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) was a French chemist, often referred to as the “Father of Modern Chemistry.” He made significant contributions to the understanding of chemical elements and the nature of combustion. Lavoisier is best known for his formulation of the law of conservation of mass and his role in discrediting the phlogiston theory. His work laid the foundation for modern chemistry and helped establish it as a quantitative science.
What is the law of conservation of mass, and how did Lavoisier contribute to its establishment?
The law of conservation of mass states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions; it only undergoes a rearrangement of atoms. Antoine Lavoisier’s meticulous experiments with combustion and chemical reactions led him to this important discovery. He demonstrated that the total mass of reactants in a chemical reaction is equal to the total mass of products, proving that mass is conserved during chemical changes.
How did Lavoisier debunk the phlogiston theory?
The phlogiston theory was an older model of combustion that proposed the existence of a substance called phlogiston, which was released during burning. Lavoisier conducted careful experiments involving combustion and oxidation processes and showed that combustion actually involved the combination of a substance with oxygen from the air. He demonstrated that the increase in weight of a substance when it was burned was due to the combination with oxygen, effectively disproving the phlogiston theory.
What was Lavoisier’s role in the creation of the metric system?
Lavoisier was one of the key figures involved in the establishment of the metric system. He recognized the need for a standardized and rational system of measurement in scientific experiments and everyday life. Along with other scientists, he helped develop and promote the adoption of the metric system in France during the French Revolution. The system was officially adopted in 1795, shortly after Lavoisier’s death, and has since become the basis for the International System of Units (SI).
How did Lavoisier meet his tragic end?
Antoine Lavoisier’s life took a tragic turn during the French Revolution. Despite his significant contributions to science and society, he was caught up in political turmoil. Lavoisier was a tax collector and a member of the Ferme Générale, a private company responsible for collecting taxes. Due to his association with this company, he was seen as a symbol of the oppressive Ancien Régime. In 1794, during the Reign of Terror, he was arrested and accused of various charges, including tax fraud. He was swiftly convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed by guillotine on May 8, 1794, at the age of 50. His death was a significant loss to the scientific community and a stark example of the dangers of the turbulent times during the French Revolution.
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