Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

1743-1794

A French scientist with one of the best minds of his era, he is regarded as the father of modern chemistry. His quantitative experiments established that combustion involves combination of a burning substance with oxygen; this led to the overthrow of the long-held incorrect phlogiston theory. He also improved the manufacture of gunpowder, promoted scientific agriculture, and was in part responsible for establishing the metric system. As a consequence of his connection with a private company used by the government to collect taxes, he was guillotined.

Sponsor: Gerald T. Babcock

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Location in chemistry building: First Floor; Room 136 North Wall; Sequence 3

Source: Kedzie Collection