Antoine lavoisier discovery of oxygen

It is generally accepted that Lavoisier's great accomplishments in chemistry stem largely from his changing the science from a qualitative to a quantitative one. Lavoisier is most noted for his discovery of the role oxygen plays in combustion. He named oxygen , recognizing it as an element, and also recognized hydrogen as an element , opposing the phlogiston theory.

Lavoisier helped construct the metric system , wrote the first extensive list of elements , and helped to reform chemical nomenclature. He predicted the existence of silicon [ 6 ] and discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same. His wife and laboratory assistant, Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier , became a renowned chemist in her own right.

At the height of the French Revolution, he was charged with tax fraud and selling adulterated tobacco , and was guillotined despite appeals to spare his life in recognition of his contributions to science. A year and a half later, he was exonerated by the French government. Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier was born to a wealthy family of the nobility in Paris on 26 August The son of an attorney at the Parlement of Paris , he inherited a large fortune at the age of five upon the death of his mother.

Antoine lavoisier discovery

In his last two years — at the school, his scientific interests were aroused, and he studied chemistry , botany , astronomy , and mathematics. Lavoisier entered the school of law, where he received a bachelor's degree in and a licentiate in Lavoisier received a law degree and was admitted to the bar , but never practiced as a lawyer.

However, he continued his scientific education in his spare time. Lavoisier's education was filled with the ideals of the French Enlightenment of the time, and he was fascinated by Pierre Macquer 's dictionary of chemistry. He attended lectures in the natural sciences. His first chemical publication appeared in