Major World Scientists
Archimedes
"Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the world."
Born in 287 BCE in Syracuse, Sicily, Greece, Archimedes was a renowned mathematician and scientist. He died in 212 BCE at the age of 76, killed by a Roman soldier's sword. His early education was at Euclid’s school in Egypt, which fueled his deep interest in mathematics and science.
Contributions:
- Mathematics: Developed methods to measure the diameter of the Sun and Moon, calculated the value of π (pi) as 22/7, and devised ways to express large numbers (e.g., 10,000,000 as 10⁶).
- Science: Invented the lever principle, discovered the law of flotation (an object submerged in a fluid displaces an equal weight of fluid), developed the water screw for hydraulic use, and created powerful lenses and mirrors for optics, including burning enemy ships using sunlight.
Galileo Galilei
Born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, and died on January 8, 1642, Galileo is considered the father of physics. He studied at Pisa and Padua Universities and proposed that the Earth is not the center of the universe but orbits the Sun.
Key Works: The Starry Messenger, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue Concerning Two New Sciences.
Contributions:
- Physics: Invented the public meter, hydrostatic balance, geometric compass, thermometer, and wall clock model. Determined the acceleration due to gravity as 9.8 m/s² and proved that objects projected between 0–90° follow a parabolic path.
- Astronomy: Built the first telescope (1609), discovered Jupiter’s moons, observed the Milky Way’s countless stars, identified Saturn’s oval ring (1610), and noted craters and valleys on the Moon’s surface.
Sir Isaac Newton
"A falling apple tells us that the same laws govern heaven and earth."
Born on December 25, 1642, in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and died in 1727, Newton is regarded as the father of modern physics. Educated at Cambridge University, he served as a Member of Parliament in 1689–1690 and 1701–1702.
Key Works: Principia (1687), Optics (1704), Geographia Generalis, The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms, The System of the World.
Contributions:
- Proposed the universal law of gravitation (1687).
- Discovered that white sunlight comprises seven colors.
- Formulated three laws of motion: (1) Objects remain in motion or at rest unless acted upon (inertia); (2) Force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma); (3) Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
- Developed calculus through the fluxion method (1666).
John Dalton
"My head is too full of triangles, chemical properties, and electrical experiments to think much of marriage."
Born on September 6, 1766, in Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England, and died on July 27, 1844, in Manchester, Dalton is known as the father of modern chemistry.
Contributions:
- Proposed the atomic theory, stating that matter consists of indivisible atoms made of electrons (-ve), protons (+ve), and neutrons (neutral).
- Developed the theory of Aurora Borealis.
- Invented the hygrometer to measure atmospheric water content.
- Formulated the law of partial pressures.
- Awarded Fellow of the Royal Society by the British government.
Michael Faraday
Known as the "Prince of Experiment" and "Father of Electricity," Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, England, and died on August 25, 1867.
Contributions:
- Invented the electric generator, voltaic cell for motors, electric motor for water pumping (1830), and capacitor.
- Discovered chlorine gas, the Faraday effect (magneto-optical effect), benzene, and diamagnetic/paramagnetic materials.
- Formulated the law of electromagnetic induction and laws of electrolysis.
- Invented the chimney (1840).
Charles Darwin
"A man who dares to waste an hour of life has not discovered the value of life."
Born on February 12, 1809, in Shrewsbury, England, and died on April 19, 1882, Darwin was a naturalist whose work revolutionized biology.
Key Works: On the Origin of Species (1859), The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication (1868), The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.
Contributions:
- Evolutionary Theory: Proposed that species evolve through high reproductive capacity, struggle for survival, and adaptation to the environment, passing traits to offspring.
- Natural Selection: Nature selects organisms that adapt to their environment, surviving competition for resources and threats.
- Mutation Theory: Organisms develop new traits across generations, leading to new species.
Albert Einstein
"God may be sophisticated, but he is not malicious."
Born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, and died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton, Einstein is a father of modern physics. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for the photoelectric effect.
Contributions:
- Developed the theory of relativity (1905, General Relativity in 1915).
- Formulated E=mc², linking energy, mass, and the speed of light, foundational to the atomic bomb (1943).
- Proposed theories on space, time, and gravitation.
- Awarded the Copley Medal (1925) and named Time magazine’s Person of the Century.
Madam Marie Curie
Born Maria Skłodowska on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland, and died in 1934, Curie was a pioneering chemist. She won two Nobel Prizes: Physics (1903, with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel) and Chemistry (1911).
Contributions:
- Discovered radium and polonium, and isolated pure radium.
- Her family won five Nobel Prizes (Marie: 2, Pierre: 1, daughter: 1, son-in-law: 1).
- Received 15 gold medals and 19 degrees.
- Contributed to artificial radioactivity, earning a posthumous Nobel Prize in 1935.
Sigmund Freud
Born in 1856 in Austria, Freud was a renowned psychoanalyst who died in 1939. He focused on the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind.
Key Works: Studies on Hysteria (1895), The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901), Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), Totem and Taboo (1913), On Narcissism (1914).
Contributions:
- Developed dream analysis theory.
- Proposed that behavior stems from unconscious motives, aiding mental health treatment.
- Explored the unconscious mind, psychosexual development, libido, and death drive.
Guglielmo Marconi
"Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time."
Born on April 25, 1874, in Bologna, Italy, and died on July 20, 1937, Marconi invented the radio and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 with Ferdinand Braun.
Contributions:
- Invented wireless telegraphy (1894), transmitting Morse code signals over 30 feet.
- Developed radio communication, enabling wireless news transmission.
- Discovered the effect of sunlight on magnetic measuring devices.
- Contributed to the development of radio broadcasting and computers.
- Awarded Italy’s highest military medal, Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (UK), and appointed to the Italian Senate (1914).
Louis Pasteur
"Do not put forward anything that you cannot prove by experimentation."
Born on December 27, 1822, in Dole, France, and died on September 28, 1895, Pasteur developed vaccines after losing three of his five children to infectious diseases.
Contributions:
- Invented pasteurization to kill bacteria in liquids.
- Developed vaccines for anthrax, cholera, rabies, and tuberculosis.
- Proposed the germ theory based on fermentation without oxygen.
- Founded stereochemistry by combining chemistry, crystallography, optics, and molecular symmetry.
Thomas Alva Edison
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, USA, and died on October 18, 1931, Edison held nearly 1,093 patents and was called the "scientist of scientists." He won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904.
Contributions:
- Invented the telegraph (1868), vote counter (1869), gramophone (1877), motion picture camera, projector, and electric light bulb (1879).
- Improved Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, introducing the word "Hello."
- Published the world’s first train-printed newspaper, Grand Trunk Herald (1861).
- Invented the mimeograph (electric pen).
Dhanvantari
Known as the founder of Ayurveda, Dhanvantari is considered the physician of the gods. He taught surgical techniques to Sushruta, the father of Ayurvedic surgery.
Charak
A 3rd-century BCE Hindu physician, Charak advanced Ayurveda. His work, Charak Samhita, details human anatomy, disease diagnosis, treatment, and embryology, earning him the title of father of Eastern Hindu medicine.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel
A Swedish engineer and chemist, Nobel invented dynamite and amassed wealth from its sales. He established the Nobel Prize fund with 1 million pounds sterling, awarding prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economics since 1901.
Alexander Fleming
Born in 1881 and died in 1955, Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. He received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945 and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most important people of the 20th century.
Jagadish Chandra Bose
An Indian botanist skilled in biology, physics, biophysics, botany, and archaeology, Bose proved plants have life, consciousness, and nervous systems. He invented the crescograph to measure plant growth and contributed to millimeter waves and radio technology.
Dr. Christiaan Neethling Barnard
Born in 1922 in Cape Province, South Africa, and died in 2001, Barnard performed the first human heart transplant in December 1967, leading a 30-person team over 9 hours. He also conducted South Africa’s first kidney transplant in 1967.
Stephen William Hawking
Born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, and died in 2018, Hawking was a renowned physicist despite being confined to a wheelchair due to ALS at age 21. He authored *A Brief History of Time* (1988) and served as director of Cambridge’s Center for Theoretical Cosmology.
Contributions:
- Advanced theories on the Big Bang and black holes.
- Received 12 honorary degrees and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009).
