1-158-602 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, 18th century French chemist, in his laboratory, 1814. Lavoisier (1743-1793) is at a distillation furnace and through the open door can be seen the guillotine, a reminder that he was executed during the French Revolution. Among other achievements, Lavoisier was one of the discoverers of oxygen, and established the laws of chemical combination. He improved the manufacture of gunpowder when director of government powder mills. From Encyclopedia Londinensis. (London, 1814).