In 1776 he was employed by Turgot to inspect the manufactory of gunpowder; which he made to carry 120 toises, instead of 90. It is pretty generally known, that during the war of the American revolution, the French gunpowder was much superior to the British; but it is perhaps not so generally understood, that for this superiority the French government were indebted to the abilities of Lavoisier. During the war of the French revolution, the quality of the powder of the two nations was reversed; the English being considerably superior to that of the French, and capable of carrying further. This was put to the test in a very remarkable way at Cadiz. During the horrors of the dictatorship of Robespierre, Lavoisier began to suspect that he would be stripped of his property, and informed Lalande that he was extremely willing to work for his subsistence. It was supposed that he meant to pursue the profession of an apothecary, as most congenial to his studies: but he was accused, along with the other _farmers-general_, of defrauding the revenue, and thrown into prison. During that sanguinary period imprisonment and condemnation were synonymous terms. Accordingly, on the 8th of May, 1794, he suffered on the scaffold, with twenty-eight farmers-general, at the early age of fifty-one. It has been, alleged that Fourcroy, who at that time possessed considerable influence, might have saved him had he been disposed to have exerted himself. But this accusation has never been supported by any evidence. Lavoisier was a man of too much eminence to be overlooked, and no accused person at that time could be saved unless he was forgotten. A paper was presented to the tribunal, drawn up by M. Hallé, giving a catalogue of the works, and a recapitulation of the merits of Lavoisier; but it was thrown aside without even being read, and M. Hallé had reason to congratulate himself that his useless attempts to save Lavoisier did not terminate in his own destruction. Lavoisier was tall, and possessed a countenance full of benignity, through which his genius shone forth conspicuous. He was mild, humane, sociable, obliging, and he displayed an incredible degree of activity. His influence was great, on account of his fortune, his reputation, and the place which he held in the treasury; but all the use which he made of it was to do good. His wife, whom he married in 1771, was Marie-Anna-Pierette-Paulze, daughter of a farmer-general, who was put to death at the same time with her husband; she herself was imprisoned, but saved by the fortunate destruction of the dictator himself, together with his abettors. It would appear that she was able to save a considerable part of her husband's fortune: she afterwards married Count Rumford, whom she survived.