Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was the first scientist to explain how things burn. He developed the first rational system for naming chemical compounds, which is still in use today, and established the practice of accurate measurement, which is the basis for all valid quantitative experiments.

Lavoisier grew up in Paris, France, the product of a sophisticated urban culture and a well-to-do bourgeois lifestyle. Lavoisier's mother adored her first-born, and after her premature death, he received equally doting care from his young aunt. The boy was treated to an excellent education at an exclusive school, where he proved to be a brilliant student.

Lavoisier's father was an influential attorney and the vocation of law was a family tradition. Although Lavoisier earned his law degree, he never became intrigued by the profession. Instead, he began studying with some of France's most distinguished scientists in the fields of...