List of Famous Scientists in History - SharpSchool

List of Famous Scientists in History

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Here is a list of some of the famous scientists in history and a brief about them.

There are a very large number of famous scientists in history. If a roster of all such famous scientists were to be compiled, the work would become cumbersome. Hence, a finite number has been taken into consideration.

Famous scientist list

Albert Einstein He is arguably at the pinnacle if the popularity of all the scientists is taken into account. He demonstrated solutions to a trio of mind-boggling topics in Physics in 1905 and shot into limelight.

Sir Isaac Newton "Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica" called "Principia" is acknowledged as the greatest scientific book ever published. Sir Isaac Newton wrote this in 1687.

Galileo Galilei He was the first to use the telescope for furnishing evidence that the earth revolves around the Sun. This postulate was in contrast to that held by the majority.

Charles Darwin "On the origin of species by means of natural selection" is Darwin's famous book published in 1859.

Johannes Kepler Kepler compiled the Mars data which enabled him to propose the "Three Laws of Planetary Motion".

Louis Pasteur Some of his works are:

separation of mirror image molecules and effect of polarized light identification of the parasite that was killing silkworms

James Maxwell He is known for the "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" published in 1873. Maxwell independently developed the "Maxwell-Boltzmann kinetic theory of gases".

Edwin Hubble "Hubble's Law" stated that galaxies move away from each other at a speed determined by the distance that separated them. He classified galaxies as per their distance, shape, brightness patterns and content.

Emil Fisher Some of his works are:

synthesis of glucose, fructose, mannose starting with glycerol establishing structures for the 16 stereoisomers of the aldohexoses with glucose as the most prominent

member

Paul Dirac He received a Nobel prize in 1933 for the work on anti-particles. The "Dirac equation" was a version of the Schrodinger's equation. Archimedes His major achievements are "The Archimedes principle in hydrostatics", the Archimedes screw and the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and the circumscribing cylinder.

Marie Curie She won the 1903 Nobel price in Physics and the 1911 Nobel prize in Chemistry.

Thomas Alva Edison He set up the first industrial research laboratory in the world and was a world record holder of 1093 patents.

Max Planck He introduced the quantum and became the recipient of the Nobel prize for Physics in 1918.

Nikola Tesla In 1882, he stated the rotating magnetic field principle and invented the alternating current long distance electrical transmission system six years later.

Aristotle His works include Physics, Metaphysics, Politics, Poetics, Nicomachean Ethics and De Anima.

Leonardo da Vinci He designed bridges, war machines, buildings, canals and forts.

Benjamin Franklin He is arguably the most famous 18th century American after George Washington.

Niels Bohr In 1922, he won the Nobel prize for Physics. He developed the "Bohr theory of the atom and liquid model of the atomic nucleus".

Nicholas Copernicus His theorized that the Sun was the fixed point around which the motions of the planets takes place. The Earth rotates around its axis once in a day and slow alterations in the direction of this axis cause the precession of the equinoxes.

Rene Descartes He wrote "Meditationes de prima philosophia, in quibus Dei existentia, & animae a corpore distinctio, demonstratur" in 1641.

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen In 1901, he won the Nobel prize for Physics as he discovered X-rays.

Carl Sagan He promoted the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence and was a pioneer of exobiology.

Jonas Salk

He developed a vaccine for polio in 1952.

Alexander Graham Bell He is the inventor of the telephone and the metal detector.

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman

He developed the Raman spectroscopy that provides information regarding the molecular structure.

Ernest Rutherford

He developed atomic theory in 1911 and classified forms of radiation.

Joseph John Thomson He received the Nobel prize for Physics in 1907 and developed the mass spectrograph.

William Ramsay He independently discovered Helium and shared the discovery or Argon, Krypton and Xenon.

Alfred Nobel He established a fund for the yearly Nobel prize in the areas of chemistry, physics, literature, international peace and medicine.

William Thompson He derived the second law of thermodynamics and proposed the Kelvin temperature scale.

James Prescott Joule One determines the rate at which heat is produced by an electric current by using Joule's law.

Julius Robert von Mayer Along with James Joule, he discovered the first law of thermodynamics.

Henry Bessemer He invented an economical steel making procedure that burnt off impurities.

Robert Bunsen

He developed the spectroscope and discovered Cesium and Rubidium.

Thomas Graham He developed the separation of crystalloids from colloids which is called "dialysis".

Michael Faraday He stated the laws of electrolysis in 1833.

Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner He determined the relation between elements and their atomic weight.

Amedeo Avagadro He concluded that equal volumes of gases at similar conditions of temperature and pressure has the same number of molecules.

William Henry Henry's Law states that the amount of gas absorbed by water increases as the gas pressure rises.

John Dalton

He developed the atomic theory.

Alessandro Volta He invented the practical battery using cells of two types of metals.

Antoine Lavoisier He recognized and named oxygen and disproved the phlogiston theory.

Charles Augustin de Coulomb He discovered the law of force between two charged bodies.

Henry Cavendish

He discovered hydrogen and nitric acid.

Thomas Newcomen

He invented the steam engine.

Robert Boyle

He proposed the Boyle's Law.

Blaise Pascal

The SI unit of pressure is named after him.

Benjamin Franklin Born on 17th January, 1706, Benjamin Franklin was a scientist and also associated with other fields. He mainly worked in the field of physics. Notable inventions of Benjamin Franklin include the bifocal lens, lightning rod, carriage odometer, Franklin Stove and glass harmonica. One of the specialties of Franklin's work was that he never patented the inventions. The principle of 'conservation of charge' was first discovered by Franklin. Electrical fluid, as it was referred to in those days, was classified in two categories i.e., the vitreous and resinous. Franklin had claimed that these weren't two different types but the same entity under different pressures.

Thomas Edison He was not only one of the famous American inventors, but also a successful businessman. Born on 11th February, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison came from Milan, Ohio. The Electric bulb is one of Edison's notable inventions. Other inventions include the motion picture camera and phonograph. Improvements made in the incandescent light by Edison laid the foundation for inventing electric bulb. A system for distribution of electricity was patented by Edison in 1880. As stated above, Thomas Edison was also known for his business acumen. He earned large profits by first patenting the inventions and then setting up mass production systems.

George Washington Carver He was one of the famous African-American scientists. He taught the farmers to make a variety of recipes from peanuts. George Washington Carver also made improvements in the preparation of various items including the edible ones. The list of these items is as follows: axle grease, adhesives, instant coffee, fuel briquettes, chili sauce, buttermilk, bleach, sidewalk, plastic, paper, metal polish, etc.

Barbara McClintock She was one of the famous American scientists and specially a distinguished cytogeneticist. Barbara McClintock won the Nobel Prize for 'Physiology or Medicine' in the year, 1983. The technique developed by McClintock to visualize the corn chromosomes was one of her notable works. The phenomenon of transposition was discovered by Barbara McClintock in the 40s and 50s decade. In this research work, the role of genes in exhibiting the physical characteristics was explained.

Linus Pauling He was basically a chemist however, also worked as an educator and peace activist. He is amongst important scientists and one of the firsts to work in the field of molecular biology and quantum chemistry. Linus Pauling is the only person along with Marie Curie to have won Nobel Prize in two different fields (Chemistry and Peace Prizes). Pauling developed interest in the study of quantum mechanics while at the Oregon State University.

Percy Julian Basically a research chemist, Percy Lavon Julian is credited for his pioneering work in the field of medicinal drugs synthesis from plants. He also pioneered the large-scale industrial production of hormones like testosterone, progesterone, etc., from plant sterols. Sitosterol and stigmasterol were the plant sterols used for this production. He was able to secure more than 130 patents in his lifetime.

Anita Roberts: She was a molecular biologist who was instrumental in the discovery of the protein TGF-beta. This protein has the potential of playing a dual role of blocking as well as stimulating cancer and it helps in the healing of wounds and fractures. Anita Roberts is one of the most-cited scientists in the world.

Annie Easley: She is an African-American computer scientist who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lewis Research Center. She was a part of the team that developed the software for the Centaur rocket stage.

Barbara McClintock: She was an American scientist who won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983. She led the development of the maize cytogenetics and studied the changes that the chromosomes in maize undergo during the process of reproduction. She discovered the process of transposition and used it to demonstrate how genes are associated with the presence or absence of certain physical characteristics in human beings. She is one of the most famous cytogeneticists of the world.

Christiane Nusslein-Volhard: She is a German biologist who conducted a successful research in mutagenesis to demonstrate the embryonic development in fruit flies. For her research on the genetic control of embryonic development, she won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995.

Diane Fossey: She was an American zoologist who completed an extensive study of eight gorilla groups by closely observing their lives in the mountain forests of Rwanda. Her work was similar to Jane Goodall's research on chimpanzees.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: She was a British chemist who worked in the field of protein crystallography. She was instrumental in determining the structure of penicillin and vitamin B12. This work earned her a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She also discovered the chemical composition of insulin. Passionate and peace-loving by nature, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is one of the most notable scientists in the field of X-ray crystallography.

Grace Hopper: She was a computer scientist and a naval officer of the United States. She developed the first compiler for a computer programming language. She pioneered the idea of writing computer programs in a language close to English. She was instrumental in the establishment of testing standards for computer systems and components. She made an excellent naval career while also making valuable contributions to the computer technology.

Gertrude B. Elion: She is a notable American biochemist and pharmacologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She is attributed with the discovery many drugs, the most significant one being the AIDS drug, AZT. She received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 followed by the National Medal of Science in 1991 and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. She was inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and was the first woman to receive this honor.

Gerty Theresa Cori: She was an American biochemist and the proud winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which she shared with her husband. The Cori couple was awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of glycogen.

Helen Flanders Dunbar: She has made a valuable contribution to psychosomatic medicine and psychobiology.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt: She was an American astronomer who began working at the Harvard College Observatory as a woman 'computer' to record the brightness of stars. She was among the first ones to note that variable stars followed a pattern. She deduced that the brighter ones have longer periods. This relationship derived by her proved helpful for measuring distances in the Universe. It was due to her research that we realized that many galaxies are outside the Milky Way. The Leavitt crater on the Moon was named in her honor. She continues to be one of the most notable figures in astronomy and physics.

Irene Joliot-Curie: She was a French scientist who started as a teacher of laboratory techniques for radiochemical research to Frederic Joliot, who later became her husband. Their joint accomplishment of the discovery of artificial radioactivity earned them a Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Jane Goodall: She is an English UN Messenger of Peace as also an anthropologist who is renowned for her

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