Sir Charles Lyell was the most famous lawyer and geologist of his time. One of the most important British scientists in history, Lyell wrote “Principles of Geology”, a landmark work in geology that explores James Hutton’s doctrine of uniformitarianism.Born at Kinnordy, Scotland to a botanist father who possessed considerable literary tastes, Charles Lyell graduated from […]
Charles Darwin, widely considered as one of the greatest and most revolutionizing scientists in history, was the British naturalist who formulated the theory of evolution. Pre-Darwin, it was thought that each species of life on the earth came individually and that none had ever changed its form. He confuted this notion and demonstrated from his
Carl Linnaeus (Latinized: Carolus Linnaeus; originally Carl Nilsson Linnæus) was a Swedish botanist, naturalist, physician and zoologist. He was the first person to lay down the principles to determine the natural genera and species of organisms, and to form a uniform system for naming them (also known as binomial nomenclature). Linnaeus is considered to be
Carl Sagan, also known as the “the astronomer of the people”, was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, author and researcher. He made crucial contributions in popularizing astronomy to the public. He authored over 600 scientific papers and several books about astronomy and natural sciences. He also gained worldwide fame for narrating and writing the popular 1980
Johann Friedrich Carl Gauss, more commonly known as Carl Friedrich Gauss, was a German mathematician, widely known as one of the greatest mathematicians in history. He made crucial contributions to geometry, statistics, number theory, planetary astronomy, the theory of functions, potential theory, optics and geophysics. Born on April 30, 1777 in Brunswick, Germany; to a
Carl Bosch was a prominent German industrial chemist and entrepreneur. Notable for the development of the Haber-Bosch process for high-pressure synthesis of ammonia, he was one of the founders of IG Farben, which became one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Bosch won the 1931 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for formulating chemical high-pressure methods. Born
One of the most prominent Indian scientists in history, C.V. Raman was the first Indian person to win the Nobel Prize in science for his illustrious 1930 discovery, now commonly known as the “Raman Effect”. It is immensely surprising that Raman used an equipment worth merely 200 to make this discovery. The Raman Effect is
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), the French philosopher and scientist, was one of the greatest and most influential mathematical writers of all times. He was also an expert in many fields, including various languages, and a well-versed religious philosopher. Born at Clermont-Ferrand on June 19, 1623, Pascal’s father was Étienne Pascal, a counsellor of the king who
Sir Benjamin Thompson was an American-born British physicist and inventor who was a founder of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. One of the leading figures in the history of thermodynamics, his work rejected the popular belief that heat is a liquid form of matter and laid down the modern theory that heat is a
The American author, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin was indeed a man of multiple talents. He was also one of the significant Founding Fathers of the United States who for later generations served as both a spokesman and a model for the national character. As a scientist, he was
Barbara McClintock made a great name as the most distinguished cytogeneticist in the field of science. Her breakthrough in the 1940s and 1950s of mobile genetic elements, or “jumping genes,” won her the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983. Among her other honours are the National Medal of Science by Richard Nixon (1971),
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, more commonly known as B. F. Skinner, was an American psychologist, philosopher, scientist and poet. An important advocate of behaviourism, Skinner is known for inventing the operant conditioning chamber, and for his own experimental analysis of behaviour. He is widely considered as one of the most influential psychologists of all times. Born
Also popularly known as ‘Avicenna’, Ibn Sina was indeed a true polymath with his contributions ranging from medicine, psychology and pharmacology to geology, physics, astronomy, chemistry and philosophy. He was also a poet and an Islamic scholar and theologian. His most important contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the “Canon”
Sir Arthur Eddington was an eminent English astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He is noted for his groundbreaking research work in astrophysics. Being the first person to investigate the motion, internal structure and evolution of stars, Eddington is widely considered to be one of the greatest astronomers of all times. Born on December 28, 1882 in
American chemist, musician, college professor, industrialist and philanthropist, Arnold Orville Beckman is known for his instruments such as the electronic pH meter (a device for measuring acidity) and a variable resistance device called a Helipot®, which developed the study and understanding of human biology. His invention of the pH meter led to the formation of