Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

Created by: Felix Losch

Nom

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

 

 

Pays/Ville

Paris, France

 

Details Personnels:

     My name is Antoine Laurent, and I am a chemist and government official from the 18th century. Many people refer to me as the father of modern chemistry. When I lived, France was a monarchy, and I took benefit of that by being a tax collector. I like both politics and chemistry. I created a basic naming system for many elements. I specialized my studies in gasses instead of fluids and solids like other scientists. I also contributed something to biology, which helped to measure respiration of animals like guinea pigs.Etienne Condilac, a very prominent scholar, mostly influenced my passion for chemistry. Sadly, I was guillotined during the middle of the Reign of Terror, because tax collectors were very unpopular in our society.

 

Date de Naissance:

August 26, 1743

Date de Mort:

May 8, 1794

Sexe:

Male

Croyances Politiques:

I supported the idea of a monarch government, because it gave me a way to finance my studies. I was a tax collector with le Ferme Générale. I studies law, and was admited to the bar, but never became a lawyer.I also helped the government to develop the metric system to create uniformity in weights and measurments.

 

Croyances Religieuses:

Although I belief in logic and reason in most areas, I am catholic.

 

Situation de Famille:

I am married to Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, who is not just my wife, but also my most valuable colleague in the field of science. She helped me translate documents and research from english to french, and the other way around.

 

Enfants:

I did not have any children.

 

Metier:

I worked as a Tax Collector for the French monarch government in the 18th century. But I only held this job to help finance my experiments.

 

Interets/Loisirs:

• Biology
• Chemistry
  • Experimentation with water
• Political System
  • Studied law, but never became a lawyer

Accomplissements:

I was curious about the idea of disproving Aristotle's commonly believed theory that air and water are unbreakable, and are the most basic elements that can be found. I based my studies mainly on the substance of water. After hearing about someone in England, who separated water into two different gasses, I wanted to try this myself. I was able to duplicate this experiment, and separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, which allowed me to extended the experiment, by letting water vapour pass over heated Iron, which caused the hydrogen to be isolated in the air. At first, I described it as flammable air, but later named it Hydrogen.The name "Hydrogen" is still commonly used today. In close work with the government, I helped to create the metric system, a uniform system of measuremnets, so I we could tax people more exctly.Today, the metric system is used in most parts of the world, expect the US, and two other smaller countries.

Education:

• Studied Law at an university
• Studied biology and chemistry by himself

La littérature publiée:

I wrote a book that is completely devoted to my interest in chemistry. It is called "Traité élémentaire de chimie", and talks about my research, and the naming system that I developed for many elements.

 

 

Personnage que je voudrais rencontrer et pourquoi:

I would really like to meet Guillaume-Francois Rouelle, because he is my major influence that brought me into the world of chemistry. I always looked up to him, and always will.

 

 

Citation Memorable:

"The art of drawing conclusions from experiments and observations consists in evaluating probabilities and in estimating whether they are sufficiently great or numerous enough to constitute proofs. This kind of calculation is more complicated and more difficult than it is commonly thought to be. . ." - Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

 

 

Mon Influence sur la Culture Francaise

 

I do not believe that I was one of the great people who shaped history, and who are connected with France right away, but I still feel that the new technologies and knowledge I brought to my country made a difference. My contributions to today's way of life in France, although small, have changed a small portion of history.

 

I was a big supporter of my government. I studied law, but did not become a lawyer. I saw my place in the government, and that is where I ended up, trying to reform the monetary and taxation system throughout France. I helped develop the metric system, which was a big benefit for national trade, and made it easier for taxation and trade to be done.

My contributions in the topic of chemistry did not have any direct impact on the culture of France. But, other scientists were able to build upon the knowledge that I discovered, to discover new technologies that could eventually help France.

 

My execution by the guillotine during the Reign of Terror, which caused my family and friends great grief, was a small step towards peace again. Only half a year after my execution, the people realized what they had done, and sent sorry letters to my wife, apologizing for what could not be cleared by words. I was very well known, not just in France, but in other countries like England and Germany, for my contributions in chemistry and biology. I feel that my efforts, to improve the quality of life with better technologies and things to make tasks easier, were a step that seems small at first, but once looked at more closely, helped France in many areas.

 

 

Resources:

 

Travis, Tony. "Revolutions and gunpowder: Antoine Lavoisier." Chemistry and Industry n9 (May 2, 1994 n9): 333(5). General OneFile. Gale. International Academy High School. 10 June 2009 

     <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.

 

Johnson, Horton A. "Revolutionary instruments: Lavoisier's tools as objects d'art.(Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and Jacques-Louis David)." Chemical Heritage 26.1 (Spring 2008): 30(6). General      OneFile. Gale. International Academy High School. 10 June 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.

 

This, Herve, Robert Meric, and Anne Cazor. "Lavoisier and meat stock.(Author abstract)." Comptes rendus - Chimie 9.11-12 (Nov-Dec 2006): 1510(6). Academic OneFile. Gale. International Academy High      School 10 June 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.