Antoine Lavoisier

Part I of Essay
was born in 1743 on August 26th in Paris. He studied at the College Mazarin. In 1768 he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. Through out his life he has held many public offices, some of which are director of the state gunpowder works, member of a commission to ....

Part II of Essay
.... He clarified the concept of an element as a “simple substance that could not be broken down by any formation of chemical compounds.” He once said, “ If, by the term elements, we mean to express the simple and indivisible molecules that compose bodies, it is probable that we know nothing about them; but if, on the contrary, we express by the term elements or principles of bodies the idea of the last point reached by analysis, all substances that we have no yet been able to decompose by any means are elements to us.” His proposed oxygen theory ....