I am young and avid for glory!

Antoine Lavoisier

 

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier - The Gifted Student

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was born on the 26th of August, 1743, the son of Jean-Antoine Lavoisier, a prominent advocate, and his wife and Émilie Punctis, the daughter of an advocate of the Parliament.   Émilie died three years  after the birth of their daughter Marie.  Antoine was 5 years old at the time, and his father thought it best to leave their house and move in with his mother.  Young Antoine and his sister spent their formative years in the care of their  aunt, Mlle Constance Punctis, who so loved the children, she devoted her life to them, choosing not to marry so she could give them her full attention, as did their father Jean-Antoine.

Antoine Lavoisier's aunt knew the importance of a good education, and in 1754,  she enrolled Antoine at the Collège Mazarin, which was renowned for its science and mathematics faculty.  While at Mazarin, Lavoiser studied under astronomer Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, geologist Jean-Étienne Guettard, botanist Bernard de Jussieu, and chemist Guillaume François Rouelle.

Lavoisier was a model student, received many awards, and it was also there he conducted many of his first serious experiments, either on his own, or assisting his teachers.  in addition to his scientific schooling,  Antoine Lavoisier studied law, earning a bachelor's degree and a license to practice in 1764.

However, Lavoisier soon realized his one true vocation was science, and he resumed his studies in mineralogy and chemistry  In 1768, Lavoisier made his first lecture to the Académie Royale des Sciences, an analysis of gypsum and its calcination into plaster of Paris.

Fact


Lavoisier was so serious to his research that he once put himself on a milk and bread diet To be able to devote more time to his experiments.

 


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Last modified: February 13, 2003