ANTOINE LAURENT LAVOISIER (1743-1794)

Lavoisier's great contributions to chemistry were presented in what is acclaimed as the first modern chemical textbook. The use of accurate measurement for chemical researches; the introduction of the law of conservation of mass; the principles of chemical nomenclature; and the final overthrow of the phlogiston theory through research on combustion were all included. A new epoch in chemistry began with its publication.

Lavoisier's greatest contributions were to chemistry, but he was a talented geologist, experimental farmer, and financial and social reformer. Principally because of his tax-collecting activities, he was executed during the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

Gift of the University of Delaware Library Associates