Scientists

Carl Sagan

Astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, and astrobiologist best known for his research on extraterrestrial life and sending the first physical message into space.

Isaac Newton

Changed our understanding of nature with his law of universal gravitation and laws of motion. In addition, he invented calculus and built the first reflecting telescope.

James Watson and Francis Crick

Codiscovered DNA's structure and replication mechanism.

Timothy Berners-Lee

Computer scientist that developed the World Wide Web.

Albert Einstein

Developed theories of special and general relativity to help us understand light, gravity, and time. Yielded the popular equation E=mc2

Dmitri Mendeleev

Discovered and applied the use of the common periodic table.

Robert Hooke

Discovered cells

Alfred Wegener

Discovered continental drift.

Michael Faraday

Discovered electromagnetic induction, discovered the link between light and magnetism, and performed the first room-temperature liquefaction of a gas.

Heinrich Hertz

Discovered radio waves. Unit is named after him.

Johannes Kepler

Discovered that the planets in the solar system follow an elliptical paths and that the tides are caused by the moon.

Daniel Bernoulli

Discovered the effect that explains how aircraft wings can generate lift

Luis Alvarez

Discovered the iridium layer in rock layers determining that it was a meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs

Aristotle

Early, philosophical genius who studied many areas of science, however his contributions to science delayed its progress for millennia.

Nikola Tesla

Electrical engineer who developed the alternating current electrical system and discovered the rotating magnetic field. He is the reason we have most of the technology we have today. One of the most dedicated and passionate engineers in history.

Gregor Mendel

Father of genetics by identifying the rules of heredity such as dominant and recessive traits, the passage of traits from parents to offspring, and the usage of Punnett squares.

Svante Arrhenius

First person to calculate that carbon dioxide can lead to an increase in the Earth's surface temperature.

Alfred Russell Wallace

Formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Nettie Stevens

Found that an organism's sex is determined by its chromosomes such as X and Y.

Niels Bohr

Founded quantum mechanics by remodeling the atoms so electrons occupied orbits.

Archimedes

Founded the science of mechanics and correctly calculated pi.

Rudolf Virchow

Founder of pathology and social medicine. First to identify that diseases are caused by malfunctioning cells.

Michio Kaku

Founder of string field theory.

Werner Heisenberg

German physicist who was one of the key pioneers of quantum mechanics and Nobel Prize winner for his uncertainty principle.

Alfred Nobel

Invented dynamite and other explosives. Used his wealth to give out annual prizes in science, literature, and peace.

Alexander Graham Bell

Invented the metal detector, telephone, and photophone.

Hippocrates

Known as the Father of Modern Medicine.

Carl Linnaeous

Known as the Father of Taxonomy because he implemented a two-part naming system used to classify all living things.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Known as the father of microbiology and discovered single-celled animals, plants, and bacteria.

Galileo Galilei

Known as the father of modern science. Discovered the first moons to orbit other planets, discovered that the Milky Way is made of stars, and he stated the principle of inertia.

Ernest Rutherford

Known as the father of nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics. Discovered the atomic nucleus and the proton.

James Watt

Known as the father of the industrial revolution, invented the high-pressure steam engines, and discovered latent heat.

Thomas Edison

Known as the greatest inventor in America for his work in producing the phonograph, camera, and light bulb.

Erwin Schrodinger

Made major contributions in the field of wave mechanics and wave equations.

Marie Curie

Made major contributions towards the study of radioactive elements and carried out the first studies in the treatment of tumors with radiation.

Blaise Pascal

Made major studies in hydrodynamics and hydraulic fluids while also inventing the hydraulic press and the syringe.

Bill Nye

Mechanical engineer and popular TV science host who advocates for the importance of science.

Maurice Wilkins

One of the founders of the structure of DNA. Worked with Watson, Crick, and Franklin.

Neil de Grasse Tyson

Popular astrophysist who uses the media to popularize science.

Francis Bacon

Popularized the use of the scientific method.

Jane Goodall

Primatologist who made important discoveries in chimpanzee behavior.

Charles Darwin

Proposed evidence for evolution and natural selection in his book, On the Origin of Species.

Rosalind Franklin

Provided the data used to discover DNA's structure, but was not awarded the Nobel prize.

B.F. Skinner

Psychologist who pioneered the science of behaviorism and discovered the power of positive reinforcement when learning.

Edwin Hubble

Regarded as one of the most important astronomers for his work in describing how the galaxy is expanding and creating the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology.

Ivan Petrovich Pavolov

Russian physiologist who won the Nobel prize for his work in classical conditioning.

Theodor Schwann

Stated that the cell is the basic unit of all living things and established a classification of cells.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Stated the theory that the solar system is centered on the sun and not the earth.

Joseph Lister

Surgeon who introduced and transformed the principles of sterile surgery and is regarded as the father of antiseptic surgery.

Louis Pasteur

The father of modern microbiology. He discovered anaerobic bacteria, established germ theory of disease, and invented food preservation by pasteurization.

Stephen Hawking

Theoretical physicist and cosmologist who predicted that black holes will emit radiation. Also was the first person to come up with the theory of cosmology.

Florence Nightingale

Transformed nursing into a respected profession, widened health outcome predictions, and advocated sanitary reforms.