1700-1800(wolfe.defoe)

Antoine Lavoisier was born in Paris on August 26, 1743 and was a prominent figure in developing chemistry past its stage of infancy into the science that it is today.When one reviews his résumé of important discoveries, they can almost instantly realize why he is referred to as the Father of Modern Chemistry.From the Theory of Combustion to the Method of Chemical Nomenclature, Lavoisier’s innumerable contributions to chemistry advanced the science further in a few decades than most chemists could in centuries.He obtained a law degree and could have followed his father into the practice, but instead decided to devote his time to chemistry, geology, economics, and public service. Unfortunately, he was a member of a private organization that collected  for the government during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution; he was exe experiments that he did. (virginia.edu) []

Every time you drink a soda or other carbonated beverage, you can thank Joseph Priestly for discovering the method for putting that special fizz in your drink (the bubbles, not the intoxication or increased energy).Priestly was born in England on March 13, 1733 to a Calvinist family, though after his birth he spent most of his young years with other close members of the family who supported or followed religious dissenters, which no doubt played a key role in his future beliefs.He supported his family and his scientific experiments by working as a minister at different churches where he would preach his unorthodox religious theories, for which he would receive much criticism.His beliefs would become so controversial that he was eventually forced to flee his home in the  countryside to London, and then on to America to avoid persecution and almost certain execution for his “heretical” sermons.He spent the last years of his life in Pennsylvania, where he died on February 6, 1804.In tribute to his contributions to chemistry and for fleeing to America in his time of need, the American Chemical Society named their highest award in his honor.

Joseph Priestly’s most important discovery was the isolation of oxygen.Priestly noted that the “goodness”, or quality, of the air was a measure of its breathability.Another important point that Priestly observed was the ability of plant life to “repair the damage” done to the air by animals, a precursor to the discovery of photosynthesis.He met with Antoine Lavoisier to discuss these findings, which ended up playing a major role in Lavoisier’s deduction that oxygen played a major role in combustion and thus his creation of the Theory of Combustion. The combination of Priestly’s discovery and Lavoisier’s thoughts on combustion played a huge role in the finalization of the discovery of combustion, a technique that is essential to modern chemistry.

http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/ci/1992/Priestley.html []

Joseph Louis Proust was born on September 26, 1754 in the city of Angers, France and died in the same city on July 5, 1826.In addition to being a practicing chemist, Proust taught at two different schools of chemistry in Spain.He was forced back to France after Napoleon arrived in Spain and burned down his lab facilities.Proust discovered three different types of sugar by  the sugars found in vegetables and fruits.He also demonstrated that the sugar found in grapes was chemically similar to that found in honey.

His most important contribution to chemistry is the Law of Definite Proportions, sometimes known as Proust’s Law.The discovery arose from a disagreement with the chemist Claude Louis Berthollet, who helped Antoine Lavoisier develop the Method of Chemical Nomenclature.He synthesized copper carbonate and discovered that the weight of each atom was proportionate to that of natural copper carbonate, proving that chemicals combine in definite proportions.There are some exceptions to this rule; there is a  of compounds known as Berthollides that contains molecules that can form in varying percentages.This law proved that molecules and elements always combine in certain ratios, which is necessary to know when balancing equations or performing stoichiometry.

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