Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (lah vwah ZYAY) was one of the
best-known French scientists and was an important government official. His theories of
combustion, his development of a way to classify the elements and the first modern textbook of
chemistry led to his being known as the father of modern chemistry. He contributed to much of
the research in the field of chemistry. He is quoted for saying, "Nothing is lost, nothing is created,
everything is transformed." Lavoisier was born in Paris, France on Aug. 26, 1743. When he was
eleven years old he attended a college called Mazain. For Lavoisier's last two years in college he
found a great deal of interest in science. He received an excellent education and developed an
interest in all branches of science, especially chemistry. Abbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaill taught
Lavoisier about meteorological observation. On 1763 Lavoisier received his bachelor's degree and
on 1764 a licentiate which allowed him to practice his profession. In his spare time he studied
books all about science. His 1st paper was written about gypsum, also known by hydrated calcium
sulfate. He described its chemical and physical properties. He was elected to the French Academy
of Sciences in 1768. On 1771 he married Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze. She helped Lavoisier by
drawing diagrams for his scientific works and translating English notation for him. Unlike earlier
chemists, Lavoisier paid particular attention to the weight of the ingredients involved in chemical
reactions and of the products that resulted. He carefully measured the weights of the reactants and
products. He noted that the weight of the air in which combustion occurred decreases. He found
that when the burning material combined with the air somehow and that the air weighed less.
Lavoisier found that the weight of the products of combustion equals the weight of the reacting
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