Lavoisier, Antoine
[(luhv-wah-zee-ay, lah-vwah-zyay)]
A French scientist of the eighteenth century, Lavoisier was one of the founders of modern chemistry. He discovered the role of oxygen in chemical reactions.
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Note
He was beheaded during the French Revolution. The presiding judge at his trial is supposed to have remarked, “The Republic has no need of scientists.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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