The father of modern chemistry is unknown and uncredited. What we do know is that there were several chemists who contributed to the field of chemistry at different times throughout history. The contributions of these chemists have created what is today known as modern chemistry. Many of these contributors have been so important that they have their own day dedicated to them. This article will discuss the life, achievements and influence of the father of modern chemistry: Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier.
Antoine-Laury Lavoisier (23 March 1743 – 11 November 1794) was a leading French chemist of the 18th century, often referred to as the “father of modern chemistry”. In his lifetime Lavoisier introduced a new era in chemical research and earned himself the nickname “The Great Organizer of Chemistry.” He introduced a new system based on plant materials, which replaced the Aristotelian logic used previously by scientists with elements found in plants such as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. He also discovered methane gas which was later named after him as ‘’Lavoisier Gas’’. These discoveries earned him great acclaim in his time, but also made him an enemy to many aristocratic circles at home who rejected it as being too bourgeois a subject for knowledge worthy only of commoners.
Biography of the Father of Modern Chemistry
: Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
Antoine-Laury Lavoisier was born on March 23, 1743 in the district of Paris. He was descended from a family of farmers, but his father died when he was young so he had to work in order to support himself and his mother. His intellectual curiosity led him to take up chemistry as a career at the age of 15. He initially studied under Jacques Louis Trouvé, who was regarded as the most successful chemist in France at the time and later became his teacher at the École Royale d’Arts et Métiers. In 1763, during the reign of Louis XV, Lavoisier successfully defended his thesis with a treatise on calorific power. After that he began working for Jean Baptiste de La Landelle and Benjamin Franklin as an examiner for ceramics, glassware and chemical apparatus. In 1770 he married Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, who came from a wealthy merchant family which gave him financial freedom.
In 1771 Lavoisier published an article on why mercury is not a constituent of air (which contradicted Pierre Louis Maupertuis’s experiment). This article brought him much fame and respect among scientists such as Lagrange and Laplace who were then at the height of their careers. A year later he published another article entitled “Mémoire sur la formation du mercure” which established him as one of France’s
Achievements of the Father of Modern Chemistry
Lavoisier is famous for his contributions to the fields of chemistry, physics and biology. He introduced a new era in chemical research and earned himself the nickname “The Great Organizer of Chemistry.” Lavoisier had several achievements that he can be credited with; he discovered oxygen, methane gas, nitrous oxide, the oxidation-reduction reactions that form acids and bases and gained recognition for his work in building an alkali factory.
Lavoisier made many important discoveries throughout his life which have since been used in every field of science. He also contributed to the development of modern chemistry. His contributions include the discovery of water gas (methane) and nitrous oxide from plant material as well as other chemicals like acids and bases. Lavoisier also made important contributions in building an alkali factory.
Some of these achievements are:
· Lavoisier found oxygen or oxides on 9 January 1777
· In 1780 he established that water contains two gases, oxygen and hydrogen
· Lavoisier was essentially responsible for making methane gas famous by naming it after himself
· In 1789 he invented a process called ‘’bloodmaking’’
· Lavoisier was one of the first to describe biological compounds using scientific terminology
· He disproved phlogiston theory which stated that rusting iron contained a substance called phlogiston
Influence of the Father of Modern Chemistry
Lavoisier was a French chemist and inventor who is credited with creating the field of modern chemistry. He is considered the “Father of Modern Chemistry” because his experiments in the 1770s led to important chemical discoveries such as isolating oxygen (then known as “dephlogisticated air”) and nitrogen from other elements, and he also discovered methane gas.
Lavoisier was born in Paris on 23 March 1743 and died in Paris on 11 November 1794 at age 51. He did not earn a degree after completing secondary studies at the prestigious Jesuit college Louis-le-Grand. In France, his education was focused primarily on philosophy where he studied under Antoine Court. In 1764, he began to study medicine at the very same institution but left three years later to pursue a career in chemistry. Lavoisier also studied law for two years before deciding to focus solely on chemistry.
In 1772, while working in an apothecary shop, he discovered that relatively speaking, when hydrogen escapes during combustion or rusting it became what we now know as water vapor; this was the first time hydrogen was recognized as a distinct element or chemical compound rather than simply being classed as another form of fire or smoke. This discovery resulted in him being appointed Professor of Chemistry at the school previously mentioned by Louis XIV (Louis-le-Grand) soon afterward despite having no formal university education.
In an effort to create more accurate weights for chemicals for use
What made Lavoisier so influential?
Lavoisier was a leading innovator in chemistry. He not only made many discoveries, but also was able to organize those discoveries into a new system of understanding the world around us.
For example, he discovered that the metalloids (elements found in plants) were formed from two other elements that he found in plants, hydrogen and oxygen. He then organized these elements into a system called the periodic table by using his discovery of combustion as evidence for which elements existed in what amounts.
Another example is his discovery of methane gas which he named after himself; it is also known as ‘’Lavoisier Gas’’. In order to prove this discovery, Lavoisier used his knowledge of combustion to show that methane was created through the process of kindling and oxidation.
Lavoisier also introduced an entirely new system for classifying substances based on their chemical composition instead of their form or function which had been the prevailing method before him. This would lay the groundwork for modern chemistry and could be seen as one of his most significant contributions to science.
Stance on Class War and Lavoisier’s opposition to it
Lavoisier was a supporter of the French Revolution and worked with Pierre Joseph-Louis, Marquis de Laplace to overthrow the monarchy. Lavoisier, however, also had radical ideas on class. He believed that there were two types of people in France: those who were born with wealth and those who were not. The only reason that some people were born into these situations was because they had been lucky enough to have parents who could pass their wealth down to them. Therefore, Lavoisier felt that it was unfair for the children of the wealthy to enjoy privileges that others did not have access to and he did not believe that the aristocracy should be able to live at a higher standard than everyone else in France.
In 1789, when King Louis XVI tried to flee from Paris because he knew that his reign would end due to the revolution, he tried to go through Montreuil but his plan was thwarted by revolutionaries and he ended up going back to Versailles where he was eventually executed on 21 January 1793.
His stance on scientific progress and his support for learning exclusively from experimentation
Lavoisier’s most important contribution to chemistry was the introduction of a new system based on plant materials, which replaced the Aristotelian logic used previously by scientists with elements found in plants such as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. He also discovered methane gas which was later named after him as ‘’Lavoisier Gas’’. The scientist’s most important quality was his steadfast belief in the importance of experiments. He believed that through experimentation, one could discover and understand all of nature’s secrets. Lavoisier famously said: “the use of fire is the primordial fact from which all else proceeds”.
Lavoisier is also known for his stance on scientific progress. For Lavoisier, progress came not from studying old texts or understanding old truths that had been passed down for generations but rather from understanding nature through experimentation and observation. For example, Lavoisier once gave up a lifetime of work when he became convinced that Newton’s theory on light was incorrect because it contradicted his experimental observations about light refraction and reflection. This belief in experimental evidence led him to reject many traditional teachings at home including the widely accepted idea that air should be considered an element just like water.
Final Words
This article has discussed the life, achievements and influence of Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Lavoisier was a chemist who contributed to the field of modern chemistry. He introduced a new system based on plant materials which replaced the Aristotelian logic used previously by scientists with elements found in plants like carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. He also discovered methane gas which was later named after him as ‘’Lavoisier Gas’’. These discoveries earned him great acclaim in his time, but also made him an enemy to many aristocratic circles at home who rejected it as being too bourgeois a subject for knowledge worthy only of commoners.