Timeline of Antoine Lavoisier, the French nobleman and chemist who revolutionized chemistry by disproving phlogiston theory, naming oxygen and hydrogen, establishing the law of conservation of mass, and pioneering modern chemical nomenclature, before his execution during the French Revolution.
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is born in Paris to a wealthy bourgeois family. His father is a lawyer at the Parlement of Paris. #history #science
Lavoisier begins his education at the Collège Mazarin (now Collège des Quatre-Nations), where he studies humanities, sciences, and mathematics. #education #science
Lavoisier's mother, Élisabeth Punctis, dies when he is about five years old, leaving him to be raised by his father and aunt. #history #family
Lavoisier enrolls at the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris, following his father's wishes, though his interest in science remains strong. #education #law
Lavoisier earns a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Paris, following his family's tradition, but his passion for science continues to grow. #education #law
Lavoisier publishes his first scientific paper on the properties of gypsum (plaster of Paris), demonstrating his early interest in chemistry and geology. #science #geology
Lavoisier wins a gold medal from the French Academy of Sciences for an essay on the best method of lighting a city's streets, recognizing his practical ingenuity. #science #invention
Lavoisier is elected to the French Academy of Sciences, where he will later play a leading role in many scientific commissions. #science #history
Lavoisier is elected as an adjunct member of the French Academy of Sciences, taking the place of a previous member. #science #history
Lavoisier buys a share in the Ferme Générale, the private tax-collecting company of the French crown, which later contributes to his downfall during the Revolution. #history #finance
Lavoisier marries Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, aged 13, who becomes his scientific collaborator, translating works and illustrating his experiments. #science #history
Lavoisier deposits a sealed note with the Academy of Sciences outlining his theory that sulfur and phosphorus increase in weight when burned due to combining with air. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier starts a series of experiments on combustion, aiming to investigate the role of air and disprove the phlogiston theory. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier learns of Priestley's discovery of 'dephlogisticated air' (oxygen) and begins repeating the experiments, leading to his own conclusions. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier publishes a collection of physics and chemistry works summarizing his early experiments and theories on calcination and gases. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier is appointed one of the four commissioners of the Gunpowder Administration, improving production and quality for the French military. #science #history
Lavoisier repeats Joseph Priestley's experiments heating mercury calx, confirming that the gas released (which he later names oxygen) supports combustion. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier establishes a state-of-the-art laboratory at the Paris Arsenal, where he conducts many of his most important experiments. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier presents a memoir to the Academy demonstrating that combustion and calcination involve combination with a portion of air, later called oxygen. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier serves on a royal commission investigating Franz Mesmer's animal magnetism (mesmerism), concluding it lacks scientific basis. #science #skepticism
Lavoisier coins the name 'oxygen' from Greek words meaning 'acid-former', as he mistakenly believes it is a component of all acids. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier, with Laplace, demonstrates that respiration is a slow combustion process, measuring heat production in guinea pigs using an ice calorimeter. #science #biology
Lavoisier and Pierre-Simon Laplace design the ice calorimeter to measure heat in chemical reactions and respiration, founding thermochemistry. #science #physics
Lavoisier and Laplace experimentally synthesize water from hydrogen and oxygen, demonstrating that water is a compound, not an element. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier formulates the law of conservation of mass, stating that in a chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier names 'hydrogen' from Greek meaning 'water-former', after confirming water's composition. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier advocates for reorganizing the Academy of Sciences to make it more efficient and useful to the state, though his proposals are not fully adopted. #science #history
Lavoisier is appointed director of the French Academy of Sciences, where he oversees its operations and reform initiatives. #science #history
Lavoisier studies the chemistry of fermentation, showing that sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide, a precursor to biochemistry. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier publishes a memoir arguing that oxygen is the acidifying principle, a view later corrected by Davy. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier, with Guyton de Morveau, Berthollet, and Fourcroy, publishes a new chemical nomenclature system that becomes the foundation of modern chemistry. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier is appointed to the commission to develop a uniform system of weights and measures, leading to the metric system. #science #history
Lavoisier publishes his landmark textbook 'Traité Élémentaire de Chimie' (Elements of Chemistry), which defines elements as substances that cannot be broken down and lists 33 elements. #science #chemistry
Lavoisier continues work on the metric system, producing a standard kilogram and meter, but the Revolution disrupts progress. #science #history
A temporary administrative duty, Lavoisier serves as a municipal officer for the University of Paris district. #history #politics
Lavoisier is appointed a commissioner of the National Treasury, applying his financial expertise, but his tax farming past attracts suspicion. #history #finance
Lavoisier publishes a treatise on rural economy, advocating for scientific farming methods to improve French agriculture. #science #agriculture
The French National Convention abolishes the tax farming system, and Lavoisier is forced to leave his position. #history #revolution
Lavoisier is arrested along with other former tax farmers on charges of conspiracy against the Republic, as the Revolutionary Terror intensifies. #history #revolution
Despite imprisonment, Lavoisier continues scientific work, completing a memoir on respiration with Séguin, published posthumously. #science #biology
Lavoisier is found guilty and executed by guillotine at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. The mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange reportedly commented, 'It took them only an instant to cut off that head, and a hundred years may not produce another like it.' #history #science
After the fall of Robespierre, Lavoisier is posthumously exonerated by the French government, and his property is returned to his widow. #history #justice