Our contemporary world has been radically reshaped by revolutions which occurred in the late 18th century: the American Revolution which gave rise to what would become the most powerful democracy in the history of the world, the French Revolution which overthrew the traditional order not only in France but in all of Europe, and, more surprisingly, the Chemical Revolution initiated by Antoine Lavoisier. Despite the fact that the latter two were intimately linked, no study has been made showing these links. This is the project which Professor Donovan is undertaking. Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) is remembered as the central figure in the 18th century Chemical Revolution and as the most famous scientist to be executed in the Terror of the French Revolution. Understandably, but unfortunately, Lavoisier's importance in the history of science has had the effect of isolating him from the history of his era, the result being that his science is usually studied without reference to his many administrative activities. The immediate goal of this project is to prepare a biography of Lavoisier, one that will describe his science and his many administrative undertakings as closely related efforts to realize a comprehensive program of reform. The larger goal is to demonstrate that in Lavoisier's case, and by implication in other cases in the 18th century, the pursuit of science was shaped by a lively awareness of political and social issues and that this attention to larger contextual concerns had profound consequences for the development of both science and society.
