Illuminated and Revolutionaries

During the Enlightenment, chemistry continued to position itself as a practical discipline rather than a theoretical one. Benefiting from centuries-old alchemical techniques and instruments, and simultaneously distancing themselves from the enigmatic speculations of the past, chemists directed their skills toward the preparation of useful products while gradually developing theories about the nature of matter. Near the end of the century, a significant milestone was achieved with the discovery of oxygen and the correct understanding of its role in combustions, calcinations, and respiration. This marked the pivotal transition of chemistry into its modern era, which, at least symbolically, can be said to have occurred in 1789 with the publication in Paris of Antoine Lavoisier’s Elementary Treatise on Chemistry.