Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (August 26, 1743 – May 8, 1794) the "father of modern chemistry," was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry, finance, biology, and economics.

He stated the first version of the Law of conservation of mass, co-discovered, recognized and named oxygen (1778) as well as hydrogen, disproved the phlogiston theory, introduced the Metric system, invented the first periodic table including 33 elements, and helped to reform chemical nomenclature. He was also an investor and administrator of the "Ferme Générale," a private tax collection company; chairman of the board of the Discount Bank (later the Banque de France); and a powerful member of a number of other aristocratic administrative councils.