Lavoisier was branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by French Revolutionists in 1794. Lavoisier had also intervened on behalf of a number of foreign-born scientists including mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange, granting them exception to a mandate stripping all foreigners of possessions and freedom. Lavoisier was tried, convicted, and guillotined on 8 May in Paris, at the age of 50.
One of his actions that may have sealed his fate was a clash a few years earlier with the young Jean-Paul Marat whom he dismissed curtly after being presented with a preposterous "scientific invention" (an object which showed a spectrum of light that was as yet unseen — but did not measure anything).
An appeal to spare his life so that he could continue his experiments was cut short by the judge: "The Republic needs neither scientists nor chemists; the course of justice can not be delayed."
Saturday, May 08, 2010
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6 comments:
I prefer the phlogiston theory. Screw 'im.
How did you like Marat's revenge? Of course, he (Marat) didn't end up well, either: got knifed in his bathtub by some pissed-off woman.
I don't get the spectrum and all that. The prism was known a long time before fruity Marat.
BTW, what you doing up so late? Too much espresso?
Preparing talks. Life is not all peaches and cream, man gotta do what he gotta do at times.
Meh, drink more Bardolino.
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