Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine Lavoisier Father of Modern Chemistry Lisa Neptune July 24, 2008 CHM 1025 Prof: Dr. Zelmer Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, a French chemist, was born on the 26th of August 1743, to Jean-Antoine Lavoisier and Émilie Punctis. Antoine’s mother died right after his sister Marie was born. He was 5 years old at the time, and his father thought it was best to move and live with his mother. So young Antoine and his sister, Marie, spent their formative years with their aunt, Mille Constance Punctis, who really loved them dearly. Lavoisier’s aunt knew the importance of education, so she enrolled him at the Collège Mazarin. The college was renowned for its math and science faculty. Antoine studied astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, geologist Jean-Étienne Guettard, botanist Bernard de Jussieu, and chemist Guillaume François Rouelle while enrolled at Mazarin. Lavoisier was an ideal student, obtained many rewards and there he conducted some of his first significant experiments. He would perform them on his own or while assisting other professors. Lavoisier studied law, earning a bachelor’s degree and a license to practice in 1764. Subsequently, Lavoisier realized his one true vocation was science. Therefore, he took a job as a tax collector, deputy to Fermier Général Baudon, so he can be able to afford all the apparatus and components needed for his experiments. In 1771, he married Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, a brilliant woman who aided Lavoisier with his experiments, skillfully illustrating them and recording them for analysis and publication. His wife became his scientific partner and equal. Lavoisier soon became known as the Father of Modern Chemistry after a couple of his works that were done and published. Contributions to Chemistry He established a magnificent laboratory that attracted scientists from all over the world. Lavoisier's experiments may not have been astonishing by today's standards, but at the time, they were quite fundamental; in fact,...

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