Why was Antoine Lavoisier executed during the Reign of Terror?

Antoine Lavoisier was executed during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror primarily due to his association with the General Farm, a private financial enterprise that collected taxes for the royal government.12

During the monarchy, Lavoisier had purchased an interest in the General Farm, which was responsible for collecting sales and excise taxes. As the Revolution became increasingly radical, the new government sought to purge the nation of its royalist past and those who had held positions of privilege under the old regime. Despite his significant contributions to science and his efforts to advise Revolutionary governments on administration and finance, Lavoisier was imprisoned alongside other members of the General Farm.32

On May 8, 1794, Lavoisier, his father-in-law, and 26 other tax farmers were guillotined. His death is widely regarded as a tragic loss to the scientific community, with his contemporary Joseph-Louis Lagrange famously noting that while it took only an instant to cut off his head, a century might not produce another like it.12