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Prominent scientists who have made major contributions to our understanding of our world and the rules of nature.
Part I: Exact Sciences and Natural Sciences (excluding Life Sciences and Medicine)
*Exact Sciences - Mathematics & Computer Sciences; Physics; Astronomy
*Natural Sciences - Chemistry (& Alchemy); Chemical Engineering; Geology (earth & planetary)
This project is on History Link where you can discover in which projects your ancestors appear
Selected Profiles (listed by activity period):
Exact Sciences
Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Physics and Astronomy
BCE
- Pythagoras, Ὁ Πυθαγόρας, of Samos (c. 570 BCE – c. 495 BCE) Ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism.
- Democritus, Δημόκριτος, Dēmókritos (460 BCE – 370 BCE) Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe.
- Euclid, Εὐκλείδης, Eukleidēs, of Alexandria (322 BCE – 275 BCE) Ancient Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry".
- Archimedes, Ἀρχιμήδης, of Syracuse (c. 287 BCE – 212 BCE) Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer.
0 - 1000
- Diophanus of Alexandria, Διόφαντος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς XD (b. between 200 and 214 CE, d. between 284 and 298 CE) Alexandrian Greek mathematician, considered co-“father of algebra”.
- Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, أبو عبد الله محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي (c. 780 – 850) mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and geographer. Considered co-“father of algebra”.
1000 - 1500
- Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā (ابن سینا) (c. 980 – 1037) Astronomer, chemist, geologist, Hafiz, Islamic psychologist, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, logician, mathematician, Maktab teacher, physicist, poet, and scientist. He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age
- Mikołaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus) (1473 - 1543) Polish astronomer, first to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.
- אברהם זכות, Abraham Zacuto (Abraão ben Samuel Zacuto) (c. 1450 – c. 1510) was a Sephardi Jew astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and historian who served as Royal Astronomer in the 15th century to King John II of Portugal. The crater Zagut on the Moon is named after him.
XVI century
- דוד גאנז David Gans (1561 – 1626) Jewish mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer, of Prague.
- Tycho Brahe (1546 -1601) Danish astronomer, credited with the most accurate astronomical observations of his time.
- John Napier of Merchiston (1550 -1617)
- Galileo Galilei (Feb. 15, 1564 - Jan. 8, 1641) Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher. Stephen Hawking says: "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."
- Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630) German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. Best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion.
- יואכים חיים גאנץ Joachim Chaim Gans Bohemian mining expert and metallurgist, and renowned for being the first recorded Jew to live in North America.
XVII century
- Rene Decartes (1596 - 1650) French philosopher, mathematician, physicist. Has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy".
- Pierre de Fermat (1601 - 1665) French lawyer and an mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus.
- Evangelista Torricelli (1608 - 1648) Italian physicist and mathematician who invented the barometer and laid the foundation of integral calculus.
- Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662) French mathematician and physicist who laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities.
- Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625 - 1712) Italian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, most famous for discovering four satellites of the planet Saturn, the division of the rings of Saturn (the Cassini Division).
- Christiaen Huygens (Apr. 14, 1629 – Jul. 8, 1695) Dutch mathematician, astronomer, physicist and horologist.
- Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (1642 - 1726) English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian. Considered to be one of the most influential people in human history.
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 - 1717) German polymath, philosopher, meta-physicist, historian, lawyer and political advisor. He developed differential and integral calculus, independently of Newton, inventing Leibniz's notation, Law of Continuity and Transcendental Law of Homogeneity, his works on binary system form the basis of modern computers.
- Jacob Bernoulli (1654 - 1705) Swiss mathematician, one of the founders of the calculus of variations, famous for his contributions to the field of probability and for his derivation of the law of large numbers.
- Edmond Halley (1656 - 1742) British astronomer and mathematician, known for calculating the orbit of Halley’s Comet. He was also interested in archeology, medical abnormalities, general biology, geology, geography, physics, and engineering; making significant contributions in these fields.
XVIII century
- Leonhard Euler (1707 - 1783) Swiss mathematician & physicist, considered to be the preeminent mathematician of the 18th century.
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700 - 1782) Swiss mathematician and physicist who did pioneering work in the field of fluid dynamics and kinetic theory of gases.
- Anders Celsius (1701 - 1744) Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician who proposed the Celsius temperature scale and founded the Uppsala Observatory.
- Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish biologist popularly known as the ‘Father of Modern Taxonomy’ who founded the binomial nomenclature, is the father of modern biological classification systems.
- Albrecht von Haller (1708 - 1777) Swiss anatomist most renowned for his observations related to the nervous system and respiratory as well as the autonomous function of the heart.
- Mikhail Lomonosov (1711 - 1765) Russian scientist, poet, geologist and astronomer, who is also believed to have influenced the formation of the modern Russian literary language. Among his discoveries are definition of the law of mass conservation, Venus planet atmosphere, explanation of the phenomenon of icebergs and understanding gravity from a mechanical perspective.
- Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier (1768 - 1830) French mathematician and physicist best remembered for his work on flow of heat, which later became the basis of what we now call ‘Fourier series’
XIX century
- John Phillips FRS (1800 – 1874) English geologist. In 1841 he published the first global geologic time scale based on the correlation of fossils in rock strata, thereby helping to standardize terminology including the term Mesozoic, which he invented.
- William 'Strata' Smith (1769 – 1839) English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map.
- James Clerk Maxwell (1831 – 1879) Scottish physicist
- Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943) Serbian-American inventor, mechanical & electrical engineer. An important contributor to the birth of commercial electricity, and a revolutionary in the field of electromagnetism.
XX/XXI centuries
MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCES
ABEL PRIZE (in Mathematics)
The Abel Prize (Norwegian: Abelprisen) is a Norwegian prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modelled after the Nobel Prizes. It comes with a monetary award of 7.5 million Norwegian Kroner (NOK).
The Abel Prize's history dates back to 1899, when its establishment was proposed by the Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie when he learned that Alfred Nobel's plans for annual prizes would not include a prize in mathematics. In 1902, King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway indicated his willingness to finance a mathematics prize to complement the Nobel Prizes, but the establishment of the prize was prevented by the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. It took almost a century before the prize was finally established by the Government of Norway in 2001, and it was specifically intended "to give the mathematicians their own equivalent of a Nobel Prize." The laureates are selected by the Abel Committee, the members of which are appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
The award ceremony takes place in the Aula of the University of Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded between 1947 and 1989. The Abel Prize board has also established an Abel symposium, administered by the Norwegian Mathematical Society.
for the ABEL PRIZE laureates (by year), see:
The ABEL PRIZE (in mathematics) - a Geni project
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==FIELDS MEDAL (in Mathematics)==
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The colloquial name is in honor of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields (1863-1932). Fields, a Canadian mathwmatician, was instrumental in establishing the award, designing the medal itself, and funding the monetary component. The Fields Medal is often viewed as the greatest honor a mathematician can receive. It comes with a monetary award, which since 2006 is C$15,000. The medal was first awarded in 1936 and it has been awarded every four years since 1950.
for the Fields medalists (by year), see:
The FIELDS Medal - a Geni project
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The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nationality, race, colour, religion, sex or political views."
The Wolf Prize in Mathematics is awarded almost annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Medicine, Physics and Arts. According to a reputation survey conducted in 2013 and 2014, the Wolf Prize in Mathematics is the third most prestigious international academic award in mathematics, after the Abel Prize and the Fields Medal. Until the establishment of the Abel Prize, it was probably the closest equivalent of a "Nobel Prize in Mathematics", since the Fields Medal is awarded every four years only to mathematicians under the age of 40.
for the laureates of the Wolf Prize in MATHEMATICS (by year), see:
The WOLF PRIZES - a Geni project
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==BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE in MATHEMATICS==
The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics is an annual award of the Breakthrough Prize series announced in 2013.
It is funded by Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg and others. The annual award comes with a cash gift of $3 million. The Breakthrough Prize Board also selects up to three laureates for the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize which awards $100,000 to early-career researchers. Starting in 2021 (prizes announced in September 2020), the $50,000 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize is also awarded to a number of women mathematicians who have completed their PhDs within the past two years.
for the laureates of the Breakthrough Prize in MATHEMATICS (by year), see:
Breakthrough Prize in MATHEMATICS - a Geni project
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==TURING AWARD (in Computer Sciences)==
The ACM A.M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community". It is stipulated that "The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the computer field". The Turing Award is recognized as the "highest distinction in Computer science" and "Nobel Prize of computing".
The award is named after Alan Mathison Turing, OBE FRS (1912 – 1954), mathematician and reader in mathematics at the University of Manchester. Turing is "frequently credited for being the Father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence".
The Turing Award, considered by many to be the Nobel Prize of computing.
During 2007-2014, the award was accompanied by a prize of $250,000, with financial support provided by Intel and Google. As of 2014 the award comes with the recognition.a one-million dollar prize, thanks to Google.
for the Turing Award recipients (by year), see:
The TURING AWARD - a Geni project
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==ECONOMIC SCIENCES (to mathematicians)==
NOBEL LAUREATES in ECONOMIC SCIENCES (mathematicians) (from 1969)
- 2012: Lloyd Stowell Shapley (USA) (b. 1923) American mathematician and economist "for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design." (Jointly with economist Alvin E. Roth).
- 2007: Leonid "Leo" Hurwicz (Poland/USA) (1917- 2008) Polish-American economist and mathematician, "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory" (with Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson).
- 2005: ישראל אומן Robert John Aumann (Israel/USA) (b. 1930) Israeli American mathematician, "for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis" (jointly with the economist Thomas C. Schelling).
- 1994: John Forbes Nash Jr. (USA) (1928-2015) American mathematician whose works in game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations have provided insight into the forces that govern chance and events inside complex systems in daily life. His theories are used in market economics, computing, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, accounting, politics and military theory.
- 1983: Gerard Debreu (France) (1921 – 2004) French economist and mathematician, "for having incorporated new analytical methods into economic theory and for his rigorous reformulation of the theory of general equilibrium".
for all the laureates (economists, psychologists and mathematicians) of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (by year), see:
The NOBEL PRIZE in ECONOMICS - a Geni project
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==PHYSICS==
NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSICS
The Nobel Prize in Physics is a yearly award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions for mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to physicist Wilhelm Röntgen in recognition of the extraordinary services he rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays (or X-rays). This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and is widely regarded as the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive in physics. It is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. Through 2019, a total of 212 individuals have been awarded the prize.
for the laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics (by year), see:
The NOBEL PRIZE in Physics - a Geni project
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The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nationality, race, colour, religion, sex or political views."
The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts.
The Wolf Prizes in physics and chemistry are often considered the most prestigious awards in those fields after the Nobel Prize. The prize in physics has gained a reputation for identifying future winners of the Nobel Prize – from the 26 prizes awarded between 1978 and 2010, fourteen winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, five of those in the following year.
for the laureates of the Wolf Prize in Physics (by year), see:
The WOLF PRIZES - a Geni project
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==BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE in FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS==
The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics is awarded by the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to awarding physicists involved in fundamental research. The foundation was founded in July 2012 by Russian physicist and internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner.
As of September 2018, this prize is the most lucrative academic prize in the world and is more than twice the amount given to the Nobel Prize awardees. This prize is also dubbed by the media as the "XXI Century Nobel".
for the laureates of the Breakthrough Prize in MATHEMATICS (by year), see:
Breakthrough Prize in FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS - a Geni project
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Natural Sciences
Chemistry, Geology, and Astrophysics/Astronomy
We include here also the art of alchemy, an ancient branch of natural philosophy that eventually evolved into chemistry and pharmacology. Alchemy flourished in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages, and then in Europe from the 13th to the 18th centuries, And is still practiced today by few.
BCE
0 - 1000 CE
- Maria the Jewess or Maria Prophetissima, Miriam the Prophetess) (anywhere between 1st - 3rd cent.) Inventor of several chemical apparatus; first non fictitious alchemist in the Western world.
- Cleopatra the Alchemist (3rd - or 4th century), was an Egyptian alchemist and author.
- Zosimos of Panopolis (end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century) Egyptian or Greek alchemist and Gnostic mystic.
- Jābir ibn Hayyān (c. 721 – c. 815) Persian chemist and alchemist.
- Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī محمد زکریای رازی (c. 865 – 925) Persian polymath, physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher, and scholar.
1000 - 1500
- Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā ابن سینا (c. 980 – 1037) Astronomer, chemist, geologist, Hafiz, Islamic psychologist, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, logician, mathematician, Maktab teacher, physicist, poet, and scientist. He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age
- Roger Bacon, OFM (c. 1214–1294) "Doctor Mirabilis". English philosopher, Franciscan friar & alchemist.
- Nicolas Flamel (1330 – 1418) French alchemist
XVI century
XVII century
- Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691) Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist and physicist. As one of the early pioneers of modern experimental scientific method, Boyle made huge contribution to a number of subjects, including chemistry, physics, medicine, hydrostatics, natural history and earth sciences. He is known for contributing in a big way in the field of science with his ‘Boyle’s Law’.
XVIII century
- Henry Cavendish (1731 - 1810) British chemist, discovered of the element hydrogen, a founder of the field of theoretical chemistry, one of the first scientists who propounded the theory of Conservation of mass and heat.
- Joseph Priestley (1733 - 1804) English theologian, author, chemist and political theorist. Regarded by many as the one who discovered oxygen.
- Antoine Lavoisier (1743 – 1794) French chemist - the Father of Modern Chemistry.
- Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze (Madame Lavoisier) (1758 – 1836) French chemist
XIX century
- Karl Ernst von Baer (1792 - 1876) German chemist.
- Alfred Nobel (1833 - 1896) Swedish industrial chemist.
- Dmitry Mendeleev, Дми́трий Ива́нович Менделе́ев (1834 - 1907) Russian chemist.
- Oliver Wolcott Gibbs (1822 - 1908) American chemist.
- 1905: Adolf von Baeyer (1835 -1917) German chemist.
- 1910: Otto Wallach (1847 – 1931) German chemist (of Jewish origin).
- 1901: Jacobus Henricus van 't Hof Jr. (1852 – 1911) Dutch physical and organic chemist. First Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- 1902: Hermann Emil Fischer (1852 – 1919) German organic chemist.
- 1904: Sir William Ramsay (1852 – 1916) Scottish scientist.
- 1906: Henri Moissan (1852 – 1907) French chemist.
- 1909: Wilhelm Ostwald (1853 – 1932) Baltic German chemist.
- 1903: Svante August Arrhenius (1859 – 1927) Swedish scientist.
- 1907: Eduard Buchner (1860 – 1917) German chemist and enzymologist.
- 1908: Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937) New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist.
XX/XXI century
CHEMISTRY
NOBEL PRIZE in CHEMISTRY
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine. This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation, and awarded by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on proposal of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry which consists of five members elected by Academy. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
The first Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 1901 to Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, of the Netherlands, "for his discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions." From 1901 to 2018, the award has been bestowed on a total of 180 individuals.
All Nobel Prizes in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 112 times to 187 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2019. Frederick Sanger is the only Nobel Laureate who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice, in 1958 and 1980.
In 2019, John B. Goodenough, was awarded the Nobel prize for Chemistry, making him the oldest Nobel laureate ever.
for the laureates of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (by year), see:
The NOBEL PRIZE in Chemistry - a Geni project
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The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nationality, race, colour, religion, sex or political views."
The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts.
The Wolf Prizes in Physics and Chemistry are often considered the most prestigious awards in those fields after the Nobel Prize.
for the laureates of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (by year), see:
The WOLF PRIZES - a Geni project
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==KAVLI PRIZE in ASTROPHYSICS, in NANOSCIENCE and in NEUROSCIENCE==
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 through a joint venture between The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation. Awarded for: outstanding contributions in Astrophysics, Nanoscience, and Neuroscience
First awarded in 2008, and then every other year since then, the reward is a gold medal, a scroll, and a monetary award of US$1,000,000.
for the laureates of the KAVLI Prizes in Astrophysics, Nanoscience, and Neuroscience (by year), see:
The KAVLI PRIZE LAUREATE - a Geni project
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Other very prominent exact and natural scientists of the XX C:
- Edwin Arthur Hubble (1876 - 1953) American astronomer who profoundly changed our understanding of the universe by demonstrating the existence of galaxies other than our own, the Milky Way.
- J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967) American theoretical physicist. The Manhattan Project of WWII.
- Kurt Gödel (1906 - 1978) Mathematician and logician, was one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century and probably the most strikingly original and important logician of the 20th century.
- Lyman Strong Spitzer, Jr. (1914 – 1997) American theoretical physicist and astronomer. The namesake of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
- Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science populariser, and science communicator in the space and natural sciences.