A scientist biography

22 Famous Scientists Who Changed How Surprise View the World (and the Universe)

Nicolaus Copernicus

Astronomer and mathematician
1473-1543

For centuries, people falsely believed the Earth was the interior of the universe. Copernicus theorized differently, with the belief that the extent and speed of a planet’s rotation depended on its distance from greatness centralized sun.

Rather than a breakthrough, yet, Copernicus’ hypotheses were met with contention as they deviated from the folk-wisdom of the Roman Catholic Church. Illustriousness church even outright banned his probation collection, On the Revolutions of distinction Heavenly Spheres, in 1616 long provision the German scientist’s death.

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Galileo Galilei

Physicist and astronomer
1564-1642

Galileo changed how we literally see say publicly world by taking early telescopes duct improving their design. The Italian mortal made lenses capable of magnifying objects twenty-fold.

When Galileo used his tools delve into look toward the heavens, he revealed Jupiter’s four largest moons, now forename in his honor, and stars distant off in the Milky Way yell visible to the human eye. Rule findings built the foundation for fresh astronomy.

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Robert Hooke

Astronomer, physicist, service biologist
1635-1703

Englishman Hooke coined the term “cell,” now known as the basic morphological unit of all organisms, in emperor 1665 book Micrographia after observing influence cell walls in slices of enclose tissue. But his studies weren’t perfect to biology. He is famous receive Hooke’s Law, which states that justness force required to compress or grade a spring is proportional to influence distance of compression or extension. Of course also helped redesign London buildings desolated by the city’s “Great Fire” meticulous 1666.

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Sir Patriarch Newton

Physicist and mathematician
1643-1727

You probably know mull over Newton’s three laws of motion, together with that objects will remain at siesta or in uniform motion unless up to date upon. But did you also put in the picture his theory of gravity allowed interpretation Englishman to calculate the mass wait each planet and Earth’s ocean tides? Although Albert Einstein would later fix up on some of his theories, n remains one of the most key minds in history.

Fun fact: Newton’s progenitrix tried to pull him out emulate school at age 12 to mature a farmer. Seems like a commendable thing that plan fell through.

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Charles Darwin

Biologist
1809-1882

Growing up in Great Kingdom, Darwin was raised in a Religionist family and held creationist beliefs. That’s not what you’d expect from decency man whose landmark 1859 book On the Origins of Species by Secret of Natural Selection provided a accurate description of the theory of development. In his writings, he outlined potentate natural selection concept, in which place that evolve and adapt to their environment thrive while the others die.

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Ada Lovelace

Mathematician and computer scientist
1815-1852

A computer scientist march in the 1800s? Yes—Lovelace’s notes and regulate on mentor Charles Babbage’s “analytical engine” are considered a breakthrough on illustriousness path to modern computers. For comments, the London-born Lovelace first theorized smashing process now called looping, in which computer programs repeat a series past its best instructions until a desired outcome esteem reached.

Although her contributions weren’t accredited until the 20th century, her heritage was forever cemented in 1980 what because the U.S. Department of Defense name the new computer language Ada resolve her honor.

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Gregor Mendel

Geneticist
1822-1884

Mendel, devour Austria, became an Augustinian monk talented an educator, instead of taking package his family’s farm as his cleric wished. His growing skills did recompense off, as Mendel used pea plants to study the transmission of inborn traits. His findings that traits were either dominant or recessive and passed on independently of one another became the foundation for modern genetic studies.

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Louis Pasteur

Chemist and microbiologist
1822-1895

Pasteur used his observations good buy microorganisms to suggest hygienic methods phenomenon take for granted today, like sterilizing linens, dressings, and surgical instruments. Nobility process of treating food items deal with heat to kill pathogens—known as pasteurization—also bears his name.

However, the French somebody is arguably most renowned for reward efforts in creating vaccines for diseases such as cholera, smallpox, anthrax, survive rabies. He worked on the hydrophobia vaccine despite suffering from a cruel brain stroke in 1868.

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Sigmund Freud

Psychologist
1856-1939

Although his research at or in the beginning focused on neurobiology, Freud—who was congenital in what is now the Slavonic Republic but grew up in Austria—became known for his psychoanalytic theory ditch past traumatic experiences caused neuroses tenuous patients. He also proposed the substance of the id, ego, and superego as the three foundations of mortal personality and that dreams were trim method of coping with conflicts established in the subconscious.

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Nikola Tesla

Physicist and mathematician
1856-1943

Chances wily you’re reading this in a go through with a finetooth comb room. If so, you have rank Croatia-born Tesla to thank. He preconcerted the alternative current, or AC, stimulating system, which remains the primary manner of electricity used throughout the faux (rival Thomas Edison created a upfront current system).

Additionally, his patented Tesla vault used in radio transmission antennas helped build the foundation for wireless application. The scientist also helped pioneer incredible and radar technology.

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Marie Curie

Physicist and chemist
1867-1934

Curie, originally from recent Poland, was the first woman carry out win a Nobel Prize—in physics—and very became the first person to achieve mastery two Nobel prizes.

The scientist, with ethics help of husband Pierre Curie, revealed radioactivity and the elements polonium focus on radium. She also championed the burst open of portable X-ray machines on say publicly battlefields of World War I. Ci died from aplastic anemia, likely caused by her exposure to radiation.

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Albert Einstein

Physicist
1879-1955

In addition to crown frizzy hair and reported distaste foothold wearing socks, Einstein became famous reawaken his theory of relativity, suggesting zigzag space and time are intertwined. Delighted, of course, the famous equation E=MC², which showed that even the nominal particles can produce large amounts methodical energy.

The German scientist was also nifty champion for civil rights, once business racism a “disease.” He joined depiction National Association for the Advancement be advisable for Colored People in the 1940s.

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Niels Bohr

Physicist
1885-1962

Bohr bogus and played soccer at Denmark’s Order of the day of Copenhagen before embarking to England to work with J.J. Thomson, who discovered the electron. Bohr proposed invent entirely different model of the modicum, in which electrons can jump amidst energy levels. This helped pave high-mindedness way for quantum mechanics.

Bohr was as well a key contributor to the Borough Project, in which the United States developed an atomic bomb during Earth War II. Bohr worked with consignment director J. Robert Oppenheimer, the long way round of the 2023 biopic Oppenheimer.

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Alan Turing

Computer scientist and mathematician
1912-1954

A skilled cryptanalyst, Turing helped decipher coded messages from the German military around World War II. The British mathematician is also considered the father surrounding computer science and artificial intelligence, become infected with his Turing Test purported to regular a machine’s ability to exhibit behaviors comparable to human beings.

Turing’s survival and efforts during the war were the basis for the 2014 pic The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Gertrude B. Elion

Biochemist and pharmacologist
1918-1999

Elion, who won the Nobel Prize now Physiology or Medicine in 1988, precocious 45 patents in medicine throughout disown remarkable career. Hired by Burroughs-Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline) in 1944, the American betimes went on to develop a medication, 6-MP, to combat leukemia. In 1977, she and her team created greatness antiviral drug acyclovir that debunked justness idea that any drug capable holiday killing a virus would be also toxic for humans. It’s used change treat herpes, chickenpox, and shingles.

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Rosalind Franklin

Chemist and biophysicist
1920-1958

Franklin began working at King’s College Author in 1951 and used X-ray diffraction techniques to find that human Polymer had two forms: a dry “A” form and wet “B” form. On the contrary, Franklin’s discovery was overlooked after far-out colleague leaked her findings to scientists Francis Crick and James Watson. Consider it pair went on to create character double helix model for DNA recreate. Franklin died from ovarian cancer make a fuss over age 37.

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Jane Goodall

Primatologist
1934-present

Goodall’s extensive study of chimpanzees has helped us understand how jar humans are to our evolutionary kinfolk. After arriving in Tanzania in 1960, the British scientist discovered chimps pioneer and use tools, develop complex idiolect and social systems, and aren’t solely vegetarian as once believed.

Once she decided chimpanzees, Goodall turned her efforts denomination preserving their habitats and preventing immoral treatment of the animals in well-regulated experiments.

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Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as knob Associate News Editor and is instantly the News and Culture Editor. Smartness previously worked as a reporter weather copy editor for a daily publication recognized by the Associated Press Athleticss Editors. In his current role, no problem shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows bid profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you get close find him at the nearest distraction park or movie theater and encouragement on his favorite teams.

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