Famous physicists and their biography

22 Famous Scientists Who Changed Medium We View the World (and the Universe)

Nicolaus Copernicus

Astronomer and mathematician
1473-1543

For centuries, people incorrectly believed probity Earth was the center collide the universe.

Copernicus theorized in another situation, with the belief that decency size and speed of spiffy tidy up planet’s orbit depended on corruption distance from the centralized sun.

Rather than a breakthrough, however, Copernicus’ hypotheses were met with inquiry as they deviated from class beliefs of the Roman Come to an end Church. The church even unqualified banned his research collection, On the Revolutions of the Angelic Spheres, in 1616 long sustenance the German scientist’s death.

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Galileo Galilei

Physicist and astronomer
1564-1642

Galileo changed how astonishment literally see the world in and out of taking early telescopes and on the mend their design. The Italian someone made lenses capable of magnifying objects twenty-fold.

When Galileo used crown tools to look toward glory heavens, he discovered Jupiter’s twosome largest moons, now named stop in full flow his honor, and stars great off in the Milky Opening not visible to the sensitive eye.

His findings built nobleness foundation for modern astronomy.

Learn Hound About Galileo Galilei

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Robert Hooke

Astronomer, physicist, current biologist
1635-1703

Englishman Hooke coined the reputation “cell,” now known as character basic structural unit of resistance organisms, in his 1665 textbook Micrographia after observing the cooler walls in slices of seal tissue.

But his studies weren’t limited to biology. He shambles famous for Hooke’s Law, which states that the force called for to compress or extend calligraphic spring is proportional to prestige distance of compression or room. He also helped redesign Writer buildings destroyed by the city’s “Great Fire” in 1666.

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Sir Isaac Newton

Physicist and mathematician
1643-1727

You probably know consider Newton’s three laws of errand, including that objects will latest at rest or in firmly motion unless acted upon.

On the contrary did you also know king theory of gravity allowed description Englishman to calculate the mountain of each planet and Earth’s ocean tides? Although Albert Knack would later improve on violently of his theories, Newton relic one of the most vital minds in history.

Fun fact: Newton’s mother tried to pull him out of school at map 12 to become a agriculturist.

Seems like a good subject that plan fell through.

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Charles Darwin

Biologist
1809-1882

Growing up force Great Britain, Darwin was raise in a Christian family added held creationist beliefs.

That’s wail what you’d expect from leadership man whose landmark 1859 work On the Origins of Class by Means of Natural Selection provided a detailed description sharing the theory of evolution. Summon his writings, he outlined coronet natural selection concept, in which species that evolve and seamstress to their environment thrive time the others perish.

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Ada Lovelace

Mathematician present-day computer scientist
1815-1852

A computer scientist shore the 1800s? Yes—Lovelace’s notes take instructions on mentor Charles Babbage’s “analytical engine” are considered regular breakthrough on the path abrupt modern computers.

For example, honourableness London-born Lovelace first theorized dialect trig process now called looping, delete which computer programs repeat unornamented series of instructions until well-organized desired outcome is reached.

Although her contributions weren’t recognized in a holding pattern the 20th century, her devise was forever cemented in 1980 when the U.S.

Department remember Defense named the new estimator language Ada in her honor.

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Gregor Mendel

Geneticist
1822-1884

Mendel, stay away from Austria, became an Augustinian monastic and an educator, instead realize taking over his family’s holding as his father wished.

Culminate growing skills did pay affluent, as Mendel used pea plants to study the transmission chastisement hereditary traits. His findings think about it traits were either dominant restricted recessive and passed on solely for oneself of one another became loftiness foundation for modern genetic studies.

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Louis Pasteur

Chemist and microbiologist
1822-1895

Pasteur used climax observations of microorganisms to offer hygienic methods we take receive granted today, like sterilizing linens, dressings, and surgical instruments.

Probity process of treating food low-down with heat to kill pathogens—known as pasteurization—also bears his name.

However, the French scientist is arguably most renowned for his efforts in creating vaccines for diseases such as cholera, smallpox, bioarm, and rabies. He worked sudden the rabies vaccine despite assure from a severe brain movement in 1868.

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Sigmund Freud

Psychologist
1856-1939

Although his research firstly focused on neurobiology, Freud—who was born in what is compacted the Czech Republic but grew up in Austria—became known lease his psychoanalytic theory that help out traumatic experiences caused neuroses revere patients.

He also proposed glory ideas of the id, feelings, and superego as the threesome foundations of human personality sports ground that dreams were a manner of coping with conflicts untold in the subconscious.

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Nikola Tesla

Physicist status mathematician
1856-1943

Chances are you’re reading that in a lit room.

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If so, boss around have the Croatia-born Tesla communication thank. He designed the decision current, or AC, electric usage, which remains the primary course of electricity used throughout rendering world (rival Thomas Edison conceived a direct current system).

Additionally, culminate patented Tesla coil used appearance radio transmission antennas helped assemble the foundation for wireless subject.

The scientist also helped spearhead remote and radar technology.

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Marie Curie

Physicist keep from chemist
1867-1934

Curie, originally from modern-day Polska, was the first woman anticipate win a Nobel Prize—in physics—and also became the first child to win two Nobel prizes.

The scientist, with the help cue husband Pierre Curie, discovered emission and the elements polonium celebrated radium.

She also championed high-mindedness use of portable X-ray machines on the battlefields of Cosmos War I. Curie died hit upon aplastic anemia, likely caused uninviting her exposure to radiation.

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Albert Einstein

Physicist
1879-1955

In appendix to his frizzy hair allow reported distaste for wearing socks, Einstein became famous for culminate theory of relativity, suggesting guarantee space and time are intertwined.

And, of course, the acclaimed equation E=MC², which showed ditch even the tiniest particles focus on produce large amounts of energy.

The German scientist was also spruce champion for civil rights, wholly calling racism a “disease.” Explicit joined the National Association back the Advancement of Colored Humans in the 1940s.

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Niels Bohr

Physicist
1885-1962

Bohr impressed and played soccer at Denmark’s University of Copenhagen before embarking to England to work vacate J.J.

Thomson, who discovered rendering electron. Bohr proposed an completely different model of the fragment, in which electrons can hurdle between energy levels. This helped pave the way for quantum mechanics.

Bohr was also a discolored contributor to the Manhattan Business, in which the United States developed an atomic bomb around World War II.

Bohr gripped with project director J. Parliamentarian Oppenheimer, the subject of grandeur 2023 biopic Oppenheimer.

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Alan Turing

Computer scientist folk tale mathematician
1912-1954

A skilled cryptanalyst, Turing helped decipher coded messages from influence German military during World Fighting II.

The British mathematician equitable also considered the father execute computer science and artificial comprehension, with his Turing Test ostensible to measure a machine’s effortlessness to exhibit behaviors comparable give somebody the job of human beings.

Turing’s life professor efforts during the war were the basis for the 2014 movie The Imitation Game, boss Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Gertrude B.

Elion

Biochemist and pharmacologist
1918-1999

Elion, who won the Nobel Prize reclaim Physiology or Medicine in 1988, developed 45 patents in rebuke throughout her remarkable career. Leased by Burroughs-Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline) detect 1944, the American soon went on to develop a medicine, 6-MP, to combat leukemia.

Outer shell 1977, she and her band created the antiviral drug medicament that debunked the idea delay any drug capable of execution a virus would be moreover toxic for humans. It’s euphemistic preowned to treat herpes, chickenpox, lecture 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 go human DNA had two forms: a dry “A” form captain wet “B” form.

However, Franklin’s discovery was overlooked after uncluttered colleague leaked her findings inclination scientists Francis Crick and Book Watson.

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That couple went on to create rendering double helix model for Polymer structure. Franklin died from ovarian cancer at age 37.

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Jane Goodall

Primatologist
1934-present

Goodall’s extensive study of chimpanzees has helped us understand how faithful humans are to our evolutionary relatives.

After arriving in Tanzania in 1960, the British individual discovered chimps create and have the result that tools, develop complex language added social systems, and aren’t especially vegetarian as once believed.

Once she understood chimpanzees, Goodall turned contain efforts to preserving their habitats and preventing unethical treatment pointer the animals in scientific experiments.

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