Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (26 August 1743 – 8 May 1794) was a French nobleman, chemist and biologist. He is often called the ""Father of Modern Chemistry"". His work is an important part of the histories of chemistry and biology. It also contributed to the beginnings of atomic theory. He was the first scientist to recognise and name the elements hydrogen and oxygen. He was executed, as were hundreds of other nobles, during the French Revolution.