Alois Alzheimer Alois Alzheimer was a German psychiatrist who discovered the pathological condition of dementia and diagnosed the disease that bears his name.

SynopsisAlois Alzheimer was born in Marktbreit, Germany, in 1864, and showed an early aptitude for science. After obtaining his medical degree, he worked in hospitals in Frankfurt, where he met Auguste Deter, a 51-year-old woman suffering from progressive short-term memory loss. He was eventually able to isolate the pathological causes of severe dementia, work so extensive that the condition became known as Alzheimer's disease.

François Jacob Biologist, Scientist, Physiologist (1920–2013)

François Jacob won a Nobel Prize in Physiology for discoveries involving the regulatory activities of bacteria.SynopsisBorn on June 17, 1920, in Nancy, France, François Jacob joined the Pasteur Institute in 1950. He became the head of the genetics department in 1960. He, along with coworkers, explored bacteria genes and discovered they were arranged in a ring. He discovered regulatory genes and proposed the existence of an RNA messenger. His work earned him a Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1965.

Chien-Shiung Wu Physicist (1912–1997)

Chinese-American nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu, also known as "the First Lady of Physics,” contributed to the Manhattan Project and made history with an experiment that disproved the hypothetical law of conservation of parity.

Synopsis

Born in 1912, Chien-Shiung Wu was a Chinese American nuclear physicist

who has been dubbed "the First Lady of Physics," "the Chinese Madame

Curie," and the "Queen of Nuclear Research." Her research contributions

include work on the Manhattan Project and the Wu experiment, which

contradicted the hypothetical law of conservation of parity. During her career,

she earned many accolades including the Comstock Prize in Physics (1964),

the Bonner Prize (1975), the National Medal of Science (1975), and the Wolf

Prize in Physics (inaugural award, 1978). Her book Beta Decay (1965) is still

a standard reference for nuclear physicists. Wu died in 1997 at the age of 84.

Jonas SalkScientist, Doctor (1914–1995)

Jonas Salk was an American physician and medical researcher who developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio.

Synopsis

Jonas Salk was born October 28, 1914, in New York City. In 1942 at the

University of Michigan School of Public Health he became part of a group that

was working to develop a vaccine against the flu. In 1947 he became head of

the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh he began

research on polio. On April 12, 1955, the vaccine was released for use in the

United States. He established the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 1963.

Salk died in 1995.

Nicolaus Copernicus Religious Figure, Astronomer, Scholar, Scientist, Mathematician (1473–1543)

Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was instrumental in establishing the concept of a heliocentric solar system, in which the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system.

ynopsis

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland. Circa

1508, Copernicus developed his own celestial model of a heliocentric

planetary system. Around 1514, he shared his findings in  theCommentariolus.

His second book on the topic, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was

banned by the Roman Catholic Church decades after his May 24, 1543 death

in Frombork.

Stephen HawkingPhysicist, Scientist (1942–)

Stephen Hawking is known for his work regarding black holes and for authoring several popular science books. He suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Synopsis

Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England. At an

early age, Hawking showed a passion for science and the sky. At age 21,

while studying cosmology at the University of Cambridge, he was diagnosed

with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Despite his debilitating illness, he has done

groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology, and his several books have

helped to make science accessible to everyone. Part of his life story was

depicted in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.

Jocelyn Bell BurnellBritish astrophysicist, scholar and trailblazer Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered the space-based phenomena known as pulsars, going on to establish herself as an esteemed leader in her field.

Synopsis

Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in

1943. As a research assistant, she helped build a large radio telescope and

discovered pulsars, providing the first direct evidence for the existence of

rapidly spinning neutron stars. In addition to her affiliation with Open

University, she has served as dean of science at the University of Bath and

president of the Royal Astronomical Society. Bell Burnell has also earned

countless awards and honors during her distinguished academic career.

Walter KohnChemist, Physicist, Scientist (1923–2016)

Walter Kohn was a physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1998 for his work in quantum chemistry.

Synopsis

Walter Kohn's work centered on the use of quantum mechanics to understand

electron bonding between atoms to form molecules. He found that the total

energy of an atomic or molecular system could be calculated if the spatial

distribution of all electrons within that system were known, which simplified the

computations needed to understand the electron bonding between atoms

within molecules. He died of cancer at his home in Santa Barbara, California,

on April 19, 2016. 

Isaac NewtonPhilosopher, Astronomer, Physicist, Scientist, Mathematician (1643–1727)

English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, most famous for his law of gravitation, was instrumental in the scientific revolution of the 17th century.

Synopsis

Born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England, Isaac Newton was an

established physicist and mathematician, and is credited as one of the great

minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. With discoveries in optics,

motion and mathematics, Newton developed the principles of modern physics.

In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Naturalis

Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), which

has been called the single most influential book on physics. Newton died in

London on March 31, 1727.

Albert Einstein Physicist, Scientist (1879–1955)

Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, among other feats. He is considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century.

Synopsis

Born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany in 1879, Albert Einstein had a passion

for inquiry that eventually led him to develop the special and general theories

of relativity. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for physics for his explanation of

the photoelectric effect and immigrated to the U.S. in the following decade

after being targeted by the Nazis. Einstein is generally considered the most

influential physicist of the 20th century, with his work also having a major

impact on the development of atomic energy. With a focus on unified field

theory during his later years, Einstein died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton,

New Jersey.

Robert Woodrow Wilson Astronomer, Physicist, Scientist (1936–)

Robert Woodrow Wilson is a Nobel Prize–winning radio astronomer and physicist best known for a discovery that advanced the Big Bang model of creation.

SynopsisBorn in Texas in 1936, Robert Woodrow Wilson began studying radio astronomy as a graduate student at Caltech. While working at Bell Labs in New Jersey, he and associate Arno Penzias discovered the presence of a background signal through the lab's antenna. The two determined that the signal was evidence of the universe's creation via the Big Bang, a discovery that garnered them the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics. Wilson went on to serve as head of Bell's Radio Physics Research Department, before joining the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 1994.

James Parkinson Geologist, Scientist, Neurologist, Activist, Doctor (1755–1824)

English born, English bred, forgotten by the English and the world, James Parkinson identified the "shaking palsy" as a disease of the central nervous system.

SynopsisThough best known for the nervous disorder that bears his name, James Parkinson was a man of many interests. Medicine, social reform and geology also occupied his attention, and he wrote numerous publications in each of these areas. Parkinson's work on shaking palsy was notable, but as the author his name fell into obscurity until 40 years later, when his name was attached to the disease.

Alfred NobelBusiness Leader, Engineer, Chemist, Scientist, Inventor (1833–1896)

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and other explosives. He used his enormous fortune from 355 patents to institute the Nobel Prizes.

Synopsis

Born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, Alfred Nobel worked at his

father's arms factory as a young man. Intellectually curious, he went on to

experiment with chemistry and explosives. In 1864, a deadly explosion killed

his younger brother. Deeply affected, Nobel developed a safer explosive:

dynamite. Nobel used his vast fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which

has come to be known for awarding the greatest achievements throughout the

world. He died of a stroke in 1896.

Linus PaulingChemist, Scientist (1901–1994)

Linus Pauling was a theoretical physical chemist who became the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes.

Synopsis

Linus Pauling was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize for Chemistry “for his

research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the

elucidation of the structure of complex substances.” He was awarded another

Nobel in 1962, for peace, for his crusade to stop the atmospheric testing of

nuclear weapons; it was awarded on October 10, 1963, the date that the

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty went into effect.

Heike Kamerlingh OnnesPhysicist, Scientist (1853–1926)

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes was a Dutch scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 for his work in low-temperature physics after he liquefied helium.

“

SynopsisHeike Kamerlingh Onnes was born on September 21, 1853, in Groningen, Netherlands. The scientist studied properties of matter at low temperatures. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913 after he succeeded in liquefying helium. He discovered superconductivity, a phenomenon where materials lose electrical resistance at extremely low temperatures. Kamerlingh Onnes died on February 21, 1926.

Jean Piaget20th-century scholar Jean Piaget created highly influential theories on the stages of mental development among children, becoming a leading figure in the fields of cognitive theory and developmental psychology.

Synopsis

Jean Piaget was born on August 9, 1896, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland,

becoming an expert on the study of mollusks by his teen years. Over the

course of his later career in child psychology, he identified four stages of

mental development that chronicled young people's journeys from basic object

identification to highly abstract thought. The recipient of an array of honors,

Piaget died on September 16, 1980, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Edwin HubbleAstronomer, Scientist (1889–1953)

Astronomer Edwin Hubble revolutionized the field of astrophysics. His research helped prove that the universe is expanding, and he created a classification system for galaxies that has been used for several decades.

Synopsis

Edwin Hubble was born on November 20, 1889. He graduated from the

University of Chicago and served in WWI before settling down to lead

research in the field of astrophysics at Mount Wilson Observatory in

California. Hubble's revolutionary work includes finding a constant relationship

between galaxies' redshift and distance, which helped to eventually prove that

the universe is expanding. Additionally, a classification system that he created

for galaxies has been used by other researchers for decades, now known as

the Hubble sequence.

Robert HookeAcademic, Scholar, Physicist, Scientist (1635–1703)

Robert Hooke is known as a "Renaissance Man" of 17th century England for his work in the sciences, which covered areas such as astronomy, physics and biology.

SynopsisBorn in Freshwater on England's Isle of Wight in 1635, scientist Robert Hooke was educated at Oxford and spent his career at the Royal Society and Gresham College. His research and experiments ranged from astronomy to biology to physics; he is particularly recognized for the observations he made while using a microscope and for "Hooke's Law" of elasticity. Hooke died in London in 1703.

Galileo Astronomer, Scientist (1564–1642)

Italian scientist and scholar Galileo made pioneering observations that laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy.

Synopsis

Born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, Galileo Galilei was a mathematics

professor who made pioneering observations of nature with long-lasting

implications for the study of physics. He also constructed a telescope and

supported the Copernican theory, which supports a sun-centered solar

system. Galileo was accused twice of heresy by the church for his beliefs, and

wrote books on his ideas. He died in Arcetri, Italy, on January 8, 1642.

Christian DopplerPhysicist, Scientist, Mathematician (1803–1853)

Christian Doppler was an Austrian mathematician and physicist best known for articulating a principle known as the 'Doppler effect.'

SynopsisChristian Doppler was born in Salzburg, Austria, on November 29, 1803. He taught mathematics and physics at the university level while conducting his own research. Doppler is best known for articulating an influential principle known as the "Doppler effect" in an 1842 paper. He was often ill and died while convalescing in Venice, Italy, on March 17, 1853.

Marie CurieMarie Curie was a Polish-born French physicist famous for her work on radioactivity and twice a winner of the Nobel Prize.

Synopsis

Born Maria Sklodowska on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland, Marie

Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only woman to win

the award in two different fields (physics and chemistry). Curie's efforts, with

her husband Pierre Curie, led to the discovery of polonium and radium and,

after Pierre's death, the further development of X-rays. She died on July 4,

1934.

Blaise Pascal Theologian, Philosopher, Physicist, Scientist, Mathematician (1623–1662)

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher, who laid the foundation for the modern theory of probabilities.

SynopsisMathematician Blaise Pascal was born on June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, France. In the 1640s he invented the Pascaline, an early calculator, and further validated Evangelista Torricelli's theory concerning the cause of barometrical variations. In the 1650s, Pascal laid the foundation of probability theory with Pierre de Fermat and published the theological work Les Provinciales, a groundbreaking series of letters that defended his Jansenist faith. Pascal is also widely known for his body of notes posthumously released as the Pensées. He died in Paris on August 19, 1662.

Benjamin Franklin Diplomat, Scientist, Inventor, Writer (1706–1790)

Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

Synopsis

Born in Boston in 1706, Benjamin Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of

Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and he negotiated the 1783 Treaty

of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. His scientific pursuits included

investigations into electricity, mathematics and mapmaking. A printer and

writer known for his wit and wisdom, Franklin was a polymath who

publishedPoor Richard’s Almanack, invented bifocal glasses and organized

the first successful American lending library. 

Louis Pasteur Chemist, Scientist, Inventor (1822–1895)

Scientist Louis Pasteur came up with the food preparing process known as pasteurization; he also developed a vaccination for anthrax and rabies.

Synopsis

Born on December 27, 1822, in Dole, France, Louis Pasteur discovered that

microbes were responsible for souring alcohol and came up with the process

of pasteurization, where bacteria is destroyed by heating beverages and then

allowing them to cool. His work in germ theory also led him and his team to

create vaccinations for anthrax and rabies

Humphry Davy Chemist, Scientist, Inventor (1778–1829)

Humphry Davy was a British chemist best known for his contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine and for his invention of the Davy lamp, a device that greatly improved safety for miners in the coal industry.

SynopsisSir Humphry Davy was an English chemist best known for his contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine. In 1798, he was appointed chemical superintendent of the Pneumatic Institution to study the therapeutic uses of various gases, after which he made several reports on the effects of inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas). On a related front, in 1815, he invented the Davy lamp, which allowed miners to work safely in close contact with flammable gases. Davy was also a charismatic speaker, and his scientific presentations at the Royal Institution of Great Britain were extremely popular among Londoners of the day.

Pierre Curie Academic, Chemist, Physicist, Scientist (1859–1906)

French physicist Pierre Curie was one of the founding fathers of modern physics and is best known for being a pioneer in radioactive studies.

SynopsisFrench physicist Pierre Curie was one of the founding fathers of modern physics and is best known for being a pioneer in radioactive studies. He and his wife, Marie Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, and the curie, a unit of radioactivity, was named after him. Curie died in 1906 after being run over by a horse-drawn carriage in Paris.

J. Robert Oppenheimer 

Academic, Engineer, Physicist, Scientist (1904–1967)

J. Robert Oppenheimer is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for leading the Manhattan Project, the program that developed the first nuclear weapon during World War II.

SynopsisBorn in New York City in 1904, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer served as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the development of the atomic bomb. After the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Oppenheimer was selected to administer a laboratory to carry out the Manhattan Project, the program that developed the first nuclear weapon during World War II. After resigning from his post in 1945, he became the chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission. Prior to his assassination in 1963, President John F. Kennedy announced Oppenheimer would receive the Enrico Fermi Award for his achievements in physics. He was presented with the award by President Lyndon B. Johnson in December of that year. The “Father of the Atomic Bomb” died from cancer at the age of 62 in Princeton, New Jersey in 1967.

Elizabeth SternScientist, Medical Professional, Doctor (1915–1980)

Pathologist Elizabeth Stern identified 250 stages of a cervical cells' progression from normal to cancerous, a breakthrough in women’s health that enabled early cancer detection and treatment.

SynopsisPathologist Elizabeth Stern was born on September 19, 1915, in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada, and joined the faculty of the University of California in 1963 as an associate professor of epidemiology. Stern identified 250 stages of a cervical cell's progression from normal to cancerous, making early cancer detection and treatment possible. Stern also discovered a link between oral contraceptives and cervical cancer. She died on August 18, 1980, in Los Angeles, California.

John Dalton Chemist, Scientist, Meteorologist (1766–1844)

Chemist John Dalton is credited with pioneering modern atomic theory. He was also the first to study color blindness.

SynopsisChemist John Dalton was born September 6, 1766, in Eaglesfield, England. During his early career, he identified the hereditary nature of red-green color blindness. In 1803 he revealed the concept of Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures. Also in the 1800s, he was the first scientist to

explain the behavior of atoms in terms of the measurement of weight. Dalton died July 26, 1844 in Manchester, England.

Joseph Priestley Theologian, Philosopher, Minister, Scientist (1733–1804)

Joseph Priestley was a clergyman, political theorist, and scientist whose work advanced liberal political and religious thought and experimental chemistry.

SynopsisJoseph Priestley was born March 13, 1733 in Birstall Fieldhead, England. He was an English clergyman, political theorist, and physical scientist whose work contributed to advances in liberal political and religious thought and in experimental chemistry. He is best remembered for his contribution to the chemistry of gases. He died on February 6, 1804 in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.

James C. Maxwell Scholar, Physicist, Scientist (1831–1879)

James C. Maxwell was a 19th century pioneer in chemistry and physics who articulated the idea of electromagnetism.

SynopsisBorn on June 13, 1831, in Edinburgh, Scotland, James C. Maxwell studied at the University of Cambridge before holding a variety of professorship posts. Already known for his innovations in optics and gas velocity research, his groundbreaking theories around electromagnetism, articulated in the famed Maxwell's Equations, greatly influenced modern physics as we know it. Maxwell died in England on November 5, 1879.

Frederick Sanger BiographyChemist, Scientist (1918–2013)

Frederick Sanger received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He discovered the structure of insulin and researched of DNA molecule sequencing.

Synopsis

Frederick Sanger was born on August 13, 1918, in Rendcombe, England. He was raised in a wealthy, Quaker family. He received his doctorate in biochemistry from St. John’s College in 1943. In 1958, he was awarded a Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of insulin. He

received his second Nobel Prize in 1980 for his research regarding the sequencing of DNA molecules. He retired three years later. Sanger died on November 19, 2013 at the age of 95.

Gregor Mendel Botanist, Scientist (1822–1884)

Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk who discovered the basic principles of heredity through experiments in his garden. Mendel's observations became the foundation of modern genetics and the study of heredity, and he is widely considered a pioneer in the field of genetics. Synopsis

Gregor Mendel, known as the "father of modern genetics," was born in Austria

in 1822. A monk, Mendel discovered the basic principles of heredity through

experiments in his monastery's garden. His experiments showed that the

inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns,

subsequently becoming the foundation of modern genetics and leading to the

study of heredity.

Alexander FlemingBiologist, Scientist (1881–1955)

Alexander Fleming was a doctor and bacteriologist who discovered penicillin, receiving the Nobel Prize in 1945.

Synopsis

Alexander Fleming was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 6, 1881, and

studied medicine, serving as a physician during World War I. Through

research and experimentation, Fleming discovered a bacteria-destroying mold

which he would call penicillin in 1928, paving the way for the use of antibiotics

in modern healthcare. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1945 and died on

March 11, 1955.

Alexander Graham Bell Educator, Scientist, Inventor, Linguist (1847–1922)

Alexander Graham Bell was one of the primary inventors of the telephone, did important work in communication for the deaf and held more than 18 patents.

Synopsis

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

His education was largely received through numerous experiments in sound

and the furthering of his father’s work on Visible Speech for the deaf. Bell

worked with Thomas Watson on the design and patent of the first practical

telephone. In all, Bell held 18 patents in his name alone and 12 that he shared

with collaborators. He died on August 2, 1922, in Cape Breton Island, Nova

Scotia, Canada.

Charles Darwin Biologist, Scientist (1809–1882)

Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.

Synopsis

Naturalist Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England, on February 12,

1809. In 1831, he embarked on a five-year survey voyage around the world

on the HMS Beagle. His studies of specimens around the globe led him to

formulate his theory of evolution and his views on the process of natural

selection. In 1859, he published On the Origin of Species. He died on April 19,

1882, in London.

Charles Henry Turner Educator, Zoologist, Scientist (1867–1923)

Charles Henry Turner, a zoologist and scholar, was the first person to discover that insects can hear and alter behavior based on previous experience.

SynopsisBorn in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Charles Henry Turner was a pioneering African-American scientist and scholar. Among his most notable achievements, Turner was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Chicago, and the first person to discover that insects can hear and alter behavior based on previous experience. He died in Chicago, Illinois, in 1923.

Francis Bacon BiographyScientist, Lawyer (1561–1626)

Francis Bacon was an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher, best known for his promotion of the scientific method.

SynopsisFrancis Bacon was born on January 22, 1561 in London, England. Bacon served as attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England, resigning amid charges of corruption. His more valuable work was philosophical. Bacon took up Aristotelian ideas, arguing for an empirical, inductive approach, known as the scientific method, which is the foundation of modern scientific inquiry.

Ferdinand Braun Physicist, Scientist, Inventor (1850–1918)

German physicist Ferdinand Braun was the co-recipient of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for his developments with wireless technology.

SynopsisPhysicist Ferdinand Braun was born on June 6, 1850, in Fulda, Germany. Among his groundbreaking accomplishments were the invention of the cathode-ray tube, which became the basis for television and computer displays, and the development of wireless technology to cover significant distances. The co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909, Braun passed away in Brooklyn, New York, on April 20, 1918.

Erwin SchrödingerScholar, Physicist, Scientist (1887–1961)

Erwin Schrödinger was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist whose groundbreaking wave equation changed the face of quantum theory.

QUOTES

“A real elimination of metaphysics means taking the soul out of both art and science, turning them into skeletons incapable of any development.”

—Erwin Schrödinger

SynopsisBorn on August 12, 1887, in Vienna, Austria, Erwin Schrödinger went on to become a noted theoretical physicist and scholar who came up with a groundbreaking wave equation for electron movements. He was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with British physicist P.A.M. Dirac, and later became a director at Ireland's Institute for Advanced Studies. A published author with works like What Is Life?, he died on January 4, 1961, in his home city.

Mary Leakey Academic, Anthropologist (1913–1996)

Mary Leakey was a paleoanthropologist who, along with husband Louis, made several prominent scientific discoveries. Skull fossils found by the Leakeys advanced our understanding of human evolution.

Synopsis

Mary Leakey was born on February 6, 1913, in London, England. She married

Louis Leakey and the pair soon became one of science's best-known

husband-wife teams. Among several prominent archaelogical and

anthropological discoveries, the Leakeys discovered a skull fossil of an

ancestor of apes and humans while excavating the Olduvai Gorge in Africa in

1960—a find that helped to illuminate the origins of humankind. Mary

continued working after her husband's death. She died in Kenya in 1996.

John Hall Physicist, Scientist (c. 1934–)

American physicist John Hall shared the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics for his contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy.

SynopsisJohn Hall was born August 1934, in Denver, Colorado. Hall's research with Theodor W. Hänsch on measuring optical frequencies led to the pair sharing (also with Roy Glauber) the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics. Practical applications of the research included improvements in satellite-based navigation systems, such as the global positioning systems (GPS), and advances in the synchronization of computer data networks.

Francis Crick Biologist, Scientist, Physiologist (1916–2004)

Francis Crick is responsible for discovering, along with James Watson, the double-helix structure of the DNA strand.

SynopsisBiophysicist Francis Crick was born in Northampton, England, in 1916. He helped develop radar and magnetic mines during World War II. After the war, he began researching the structure of DNA with the University of Cambridge Medical Research Council at its Cavendish Laboratory with James D. Watson. He shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for his work and continued conducting research until his death in 2004.

Niels Bohr Physicist, Scientist (1885–1962

Niels Bohr was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and humanitarian whose revolutionary theories on atomic structures helped shape research worldwide.

QUOTES

“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”

—Niels Bohr

SynopsisBorn on October 7, 1885, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Niels Bohr went on to become an accomplished physicist who came up with a revolutionary theory on atomic structures and radiation emission. He won the 1922 Nobel Prize in physics for his ideas and years later, after working on the Manhattan Project in the United States, called for responsible and peaceful applications of atomic energy across the world.

Maurice Wilkins Academic, Biologist, Physicist, Scientist (1916–2004)

Biophysicist Maurice Wilkins was known for his contributions to the discovery of DNA's molecular structure, for which he won the 1962 Nobel Prize.

SynopsisBorn on December 15, 1916, in Pongaroa, New Zealand, scientist Maurice Wilkins worked with the Manhattan Project before turning to biophysics. He produced the first image of DNA fibers, which, amidst conflict between he and colleague Rosalind Franklin, contributed to the Watson and Crick double-helix model shared in 1953. Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for his work. He died on October 6, 2004.

Walter H. Brattain Physicist, Scientist (1902–1987)

Physicist Walter H. Brattain was known for having created the transistor, a landmark invention for which he received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956.

SynopsisBorn on February 10, 1902, in China, Walter H. Brattain was an experimental physicist who co-invented the transistor, a breakthrough in electronics. The invention came as a result of AT&T's request to improve upon their telephone service. By amplifying the elecritcity needed for telephone service with the transistor, as opposed to using inefficient vacuum tubes, Brattain is believed to have helped introduce the "Information Age." Brattain, in addition to his team, received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956. He died on October 13, 1987, in Seattle.

James D. Watson

Academic, Biologist, Geneticist, Zoologist, Scientist (1928–)

James D. Watson is a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist and researcher credited with co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA.

Synopsis

Born on April 6, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, James D. Watson worked at the

University of Copenhagen and the Cavendish Laboratory before formulating

the theory of a double-helix structure for DNA along with Francis Crick.

Watson received a 1962 Nobel Prize and went on to do work in cancer

research and mapping the human genome. He later came under fire for

several controversial remarks on subjects ranging from obesity to race-based

intelligence.

Henry Taube Academic, Chemist, Scientist (1915–2005)

Henry Taube was a 20th century scientist who earned the 1983 Nobel Prize for trailblazing work in inorganic chemistry.

SynopsisBorn on November 30, 1915, in Neudorf, Canada, Henry Taube earned his Ph.D. at the University of California and later taught in Chicago. In addition to other research, Taube made groundbreaking discoveries about the nature of electron transfers in ion oxidation, thus earning the 1976 National Medal of Science and 1983 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He died on November 16, 2005.

Edward Tatum Scientist (1909–1975)

Biochemist Edward Tatum won the 1958 Nobel Prize for his research, which helped create the field of molecular genetics.

SynopsisAs a research assistant at Stanford University, Edward Tatum worked with collaborator George Beadle to confirm that all biochemical processes are controlled by genes, and that each gene in some way determines the structure of a specific enzyme (the one-gene–one-enzyme hypothesis). Tatum and Beadle won the 1958 Nobel Prize for this research, which helped create the field of molecular genetics.

Johannes Purkinje Physicist, Scientist (1787–1869)

Czech experimental physiologist Johannes Purkinje discovered the Purkinje effect, Purkinje cells and Purkinje fibers and first introduced the term protoplasm.

SynopsisJohannes Purkinje was born December 17, 1787, in Libochovice, Bohemia. He discovered the Purkinje effect, Purkinje cells, and Purkinje fibers. At Breslau he created the world's first independent physiology department and first official physiology laboratory. He introduced the term protoplasm, devised new methods for preparing microscope samples and recognized the uniqueness of fingerprints.

Walter Reed Scientist, Medical Professional, Doctor (1851–1902)

Walter Reed was a U.S. Army pathologist and bacteriologist who led the experiments that proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquito bite.

SynopsisDuring the Spanish-American War, Walter Reed investigated the spread of typhoid fever in military camps. His report revealed new facts regarding this disease and was a brilliant investigation in epidemiology. He then turned his attention to yellow fever and determined that it could not be spread via clothing, bedding etc. and only by mosquito bites, which led to stopping the deadly disease.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov Scientist, Physiologist (1849–1936)

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov developed his concept of the conditioned reflex through a famous study with dogs and won a Nobel Prize Award in 1904.

SynopsisBorn on September 14, 1849, in Ryazan, Russia, Ivan Pavlov abandoned his early theological schooling to study science. As the Department of Physiology head at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, his groundbreaking work on the digestive systems of dogs earned him the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1904. Pavlov remained an active researcher until his death on February 27, 1936.

Wolfgang Pauli Physicist, Scientist (1900–1958)

Wolfgang Pauli was a physicist and recipient of the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery in 1925 of the Pauli exclusion principle.

SynopsisAfter Wolfgang Pauli’s return to Hamburg in 1924, he participated in the creation of quantum mechanics. His analysis of the philosophical foundations and methodology of physics played a central role in the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The outbreak of World War II and the possible threat of Nazi persecution led him to the U.S., but he returned to Europe in 1946.

George E. Palade Biologist, Scientist (1912–2008)

Biologist George Emil Palade studied cell structure and discovered ribosomes. He won a 1974 Nobel Prize for his research.

SynopsisGeorge Emil Palade was born on November 19, 1912, in Jassy, Romania. After World War II, he immigrated to the United States. Palade worked at the Rockefeller Institute in New York, where he studied cell structures and discovered ribosomes. In 1974, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research. He taught at Yale and the University of California before retiring in 2001. He died on October 7, 2008, in Del Mar, California.