Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald, more commonly known as Wilhelm Ostwald, was an eminent Russian-German chemist and philosopher who was a key figure in the development of physical chemistry as a recognized branch of chemistry. He won the 1909 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his groundbreaking research on chemical equilibria, chemical reaction velocities and catalysis. Born of […]

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (alias Roentgen) (1845-1923), the first Nobel winner in Physics, was the first to produce X-rays, known originally as Röntgen rays. The facts of his early biography offer hope for those who fail in their initial educational efforts. A childhood act of solidarity excluded him from many subsequent schools. However, he went on

Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright established a marvellous legacy in the history of world, alongside the greatest American inventors, with the invention of the first successful, fully powered and heavier-than-air flying machine. The aeroplane, which was created in Dayton, Ohio and made operational at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, virtually kicked off

Werner Heisenberg was a German physicist and philosopher who is noted for his crucial contributions to quantum mechanics. He devised a method to formulate quantum mechanics in terms of matrices, for which he was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physics. Heisenberg is widely considered as one of the most influential figures in nuclear physics,

The American physician, Virginia Apgar is best known for developing the Apgar Newborn Scoring System (better known as the “Apgar Score”), a simple, quick method for judging newborn viability. The newborn’s appearance colour, reflex irritability, muscle tone and respiration are assessed one minute and five minutes after birth; low scores indicate possible health issues. The

Tyge Ottesen Brahe, more commonly known as Tycho Brahe (latinized form), was an eminent Danish astronomer and alchemist. He played a vital role in the development of various astronomical instruments. Brahe is also known for his precise and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations, which heavily influenced future discoveries. Born at Knutstorp Castle, Scania in 1546,

Thomas Newcomen was a prominent British engineer, best known for inventing the atmospheric steam engine, which was the world’s oldest known steam engine for pumping water. The Newcomen engine largely influenced later designs such as James Watt’s engine. Born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, Thomas Newcomen initially worked as an ironmonger at Dartmouth. Since flooding was

Thomas Hunt Morgan was an eminent American zoologist and geneticist. He is known for his legendary experimental analysis of the fruit fly, after which he formulated the chromosome theory of heredity. Morgan also demonstrated that genes are connected in a series on chromosomes, which carry hereditary traits, therefore kick starting the modern field of genetics.

Widely regarded as the founder of evolutionary genetics, Theodosius Dobzhansky was an eminent Ukrainian-American geneticist and evolutionist. He played a vital role in the development of evolutionary theory and genetics. Born in Nemirov, Russian Empire in 1900, Theodosius Dobzhansky was the son of a high school mathematics teacher. He belonged to a family of Russian

Theodor Schwann was a German physiologist who is widely credited as the founder of modern histology. He played a vital role in the development of cell theory and defined the cell as the fundamental unit of animal structure. Theodor Schwann was born in Neuss, Germany, in 1810. His father was a goldsmith. Schwann loved tinkering

Al-Sabi Thabit ibn Qurra al-Harrani (836 -901) was an astronomer and mathematician born in present day Turkey, best known for translating classic Greek works on astronomy, and discovered an equation for determining the amicable numbers. He was a Mandean physician, who was known as Thebit in Latin. Thabit was a member of the Sabian religious

Svante Arrhenius was a Swedish physicist and physical chemist who formulated the theory of electrolytic dissociation. One of the founding fathers of physical chemistry, Arrhenius also presented a revolutionary model of the greenhouse effect. He won the 1903 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his brilliant contributions. Born on February 19, 1859 near Uppsala, Sweden, Svante

Stephen Hawking is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist who is widely considered to be one of the greatest scientists alive today. He is currently the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, University of Cambridge. Born on 8 January 1942 to a biologist father, Hawking had two younger sisters. He was an

Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar was an Indian Mathematician who was born in Erode, India, in 1887 on December 22. He was born into a family that was not very well-to-do. He went to school at the nearby place, Kumbakonam. Ramanujan is very well known for his efforts on continued fractions and series of hypergeometry. When Ramanujan