1883-1946


Keynes is considered by some to be the most influential economist of the 20th century.

British economist whose ideas, called Keynesian economics, had a major impact on modern economic and political theory as well as on many governments' fiscal policies He is one of the fathers of modern theoretical macroeconomics.
See also   The Great Depression

His classic book ' The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money ' (1936) is generally regarded as one of the most influential social science treatise of the 20th Century, in that it quickly and permanently changed the way the world looked at the economy and the role of govern-ment in society. Keynes advocated interventionist government policy, by which the government would use fiscal and monetary measures to mitigate the adverse effects of eco-nomic recessions, depressions and booms.

Economic interventionism is any action taken by a government - beyond the basic regulation of fraud and enforcement of contracts - in an effort to affect its own economy. Economic intervention can be aimed at a variety of political or economic objectives, such as promoting eco-nomic growth, increasing employ-ment, raising wages, raising or reducing prices, promoting equality, managing the money supply and interest rates, or addressing market failures.

Economic interventionism is generally associated with the political liberal left which believes that certain market outcomes are undesirable and ought to be mitigated. Economic interventionism is sometimes practised by national conservative parties with the thinking that the free market can damage national traditions, social order, or the authority of the state itself.

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Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste

1744-1829



French biologist who propagated evolutionary change and known for his idea that acquired traits are inheritable.

Lamarck published 'Zoological Philosophy' in 1809 in which he came up with a reasonable theory of organic evolution. He believed that species could change through time by passing on traits acquired during an individual's life to their offspring.

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Laplace, Pierre-Simon

1749-1827



French astronomer and physicist who applied Newtonian theory of gravitation to the entire solar system.

He also published works on probability including supplements dealing with the determination of the masses of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus; triangulation methods in surveying; and problems of geo-desy in particular the determination of the meridian of France.

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Lavoisier, Antoine-Laurent

1743-1794


French scientist who is regarded as the father of modern chemistry.

He introduced the term oxygen, and he formulated the law of conser-vation of matter, proving that when a burning substance combines with oxygen the weight of the products of combustion equals the original weight.

In 1775 Lavoisier was appointed a commissioner of the Royal Gunpowder Administration. He succeeded in producing more and better gunpowder by increasing the supply and ensuring the purity of the constituents: saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

Lavoisier took part in the events leading to the French Revolution, and in its early years he drew up plans and reports advocating many reforms, including the establishment of the metric system of weights and measures.

Despite his eminence, he came under attack as a former farmer-general of taxes and was guillotined in 1794

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