The complicated but accurate system of naming the various chemical substances that we use today was first drawn up 200 years ago by a brilliant French scientist Antoine Lavoisier, who is generally regarded as the father of modern chemistry.

Lavoisier was the first scientist to recognize the importance of oxygen in the process of combustion or burning. He laid down the principle of the conservation of matter which stated ‘nothing is created, nothing is destroyed’.

But the work of Lavoisier did not end there. In collaboration with three other scientists, he devised a reformed system of chemical terminology in 1787, giving a precise name to every known chemical substance. To him we owe name like ‘ferrous oxide’ which tells us immediately what substance are involved, in this case iron and oxygen. Before Lavoisier, early scientists had used peculiar and fantastic names to identify the various chemicals.