How did Antoine Lavoisier classify elements in the late 1700s?

In 1789, the French chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier published what is considered the first list of chemical elements based on a rigorous, operational definition.12

Lavoisier defined an element as a substance that could not be further reduced or decomposed by any known chemical reaction. His classification was the result of careful, quantitative studies involving the tracking of weights during decomposition and recombination experiments.12

Because his experimental methods were limited, he included several substances in his list—such as lime, alumina, and silica—that are now known to be stable compounds rather than elements. Additionally, he retained some influence from earlier philosophical concepts by including light and heat (caloric) as elements.1

Lavoisier’s work was instrumental in moving chemistry toward a modern, quantitative science, and he further organized his findings by introducing a new system of chemical nomenclature to describe these substances and their reactions.32