THE 70 MOST FAMOUS AND IMPORTANT SCIENTISTS IN HISTORY - ARTE - 2025

Compilation of the most famous and important scientists in history, men and women of vital importance who dedicated their lives to research and who achieved great contributions, advances, inventions and discoveries for humanity. Her legacy is priceless, but it never hurts to recognize her merits.

Names and images are listed in this article simply to make reading easier for the reader. However, it would be insolent to decide why one is better than another. For this reason, it is necessary to make it clear that order does not mark the degree of merit. They are different scientific fields and therefore incomparable in no way.

Science and technology have continuously modified human life. The current scientist is esteemed and recognized in society, although in some countries they could receive more money for their research.

Scientists include theorists - such as Einstein or Stephen Hawking - who mainly develop new models to explain existing data and predict new results, and experimentalists - such as Marie Curie or Edison - who test models by making measurements, although in practice the division between these activities is unclear, and many scientists perform both tasks.

I hope you read the article with the feeling of leaving a good taste in your mouth discovering these illustrious people who have done so much good for the world. If when you finish reading it you miss some other great character from physics, medicine, mathematics, engineering or any scientific branch, do not hesitate to suggest it in comments.

You may also be interested in this list with the most important historical figures.

The most outstanding scientists in history

1-Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Most relevant scientist of the 20th century and possibly the greatest symbol of science. Despite being a lousy student, Einstein presented the theory of spatial relativity in Bern when he was just 26 years old, his most remarkable milestone. Similarly, from this theory he extracted the most well-known equation in history: E = mc², where mass equals energy.

He obtained the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) and, although he is considered the "father of the atomic bomb", he always advocated pacifism and democratic socialism.

2- Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)

For many Newton is the most complete scientist in history. Physicist, alchemist, mathematician, astronomer or inventor, he stands out for the famous Newton's Laws, with which he established the bases of gravitational laws.

In addition, together with Leibniz, he is the architect of the development of the integral and differential calculus or the corpuscular theory of light.

3- Stephen Hawking (1942- 2018)

Most popular theoretical physicist since Albert Einstein. Although his life has been marked by a degenerative disease, the scientist knew how to cope without problems to publish important works on space-time or general relativity.

Hawking had twelve honorary doctorates to his credit, in addition to other distinctions such as the Prince Asturias Award for Concord (1989) or the Special Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012).

4- Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)

First person capable of obtaining two Nobel prizes in two different categories (Physics and Chemistry), in addition to being the first woman to practice as a professor at the University of Paris.

Together with her husband Pierre they created a great tandem, being a very strong support to become one of the pioneers in research in the field of radioactivity. Among her successes, the discovery of radium and polonium stands out.

Marie Curie is one of the “30 most famous and outstanding women in history”.

5- Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)

Galileo Galilei - Source: Domenico Tintoretto

Galileo is considered the icon of the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. He spanned various fields of science and the arts, but excelled in physics and astronomy above all.

"The father of science" laid the foundations of modern mechanics such as dynamics or kinematics, in addition to achieving great successes such as the improvement of the telescope.

6- Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)

Precocious genius in love with science who soon worked as a physicist and mathematician, two of the fields, along with natural history, in which he left a huge legacy.

Pascal's Principle, Pascal's Theorem, Pascal's Triangle or Pascalina are some of his theoretical works. In addition, his contribution in the construction of mechanical calculators or his research on fluids should be highlighted.

7- Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)

Charles Darwin

Possibly, along with Galilei, the most controversial scientist in history. The reason is his theory of biological evolution through natural selection. To this day, this idea is the fundamental basis of biology as a science.

Darwin studied medicine and theology, but they never really created an interest in the British author. It was not until 1830 that the botanist John Henslow discovered Darwin natural history.

8- Nicholas Copernicus (1473 - 1543)

Another very important figure of the Scientific Revolution. Copernicus is considered the most important astronomer in history.

Alma mater of the University of Krakow, developed the heliocentric theory of the Solar System, which marked a before and after in modern astronomy, as well as one of the most important theories of science in general.

9- Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

One of the best known and most valued people of his time. Inventor and scientist, he is also one of the founding fathers of the United States.

Curious about electricity, Franklin invented the lightning rod and also formulated concepts such as positive and negative electricity. Other inventions include the Franklin stove, odometers, diver fins or bifocal lenses.

10- Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955)

Microbiologist almost by chance since being the son of peasants it was very difficult to access a higher education. A similar case of serendipity were his two most important discoveries: lizosima and penicillin.

These antibiotic properties have saved millions of lives and in turn have promoted the creation of new specialties in modern medicine.

11- Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)

Although he had a tough childhood, Kepler overcame his difficulties thanks to his amazing intelligence and was able to study at the Adelberg and Maulbronn seminars.

Astronomer and mathematician, he was in the service of King Rudolph II, where he could develop his research. His most important contribution was the laws on the movement of the planets in their orbit around the Sun, being one of the figures of the Scientific Revolution.

12- Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895)

One of the strongholds of modern medicine and founder of microbiology. Chemist and drummer, he reformulated the theory of infectious diseases that had been established since the time of Hippocrates.

Among his many achievements, perhaps his greatest contributions were the discovery of the rabies vaccine and the pasteurization technique.

13- Gregor Mendel (1822 - 1884)

Pioneer in the study of the field of genetics. A monk and botanist, Mendel carried out rigorous experiments with peas to reveal genetic inheritance through Mendel's laws.

Although this is a turning point in modern biology, Mendel's work was not recognized until the 1990s, when a boom in experiments and research was experienced among the scientific community.

14- Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867)

British physicist and chemist who made his mark on science through his research on electromagnetism and electrochemistry.

Although his educational resources were very limited, Faraday soon made his mark as a chemist by discovering benzene, one of the most notable hydrocarbons. He has to his credit with distinctions such as the Order of Merit of the Sciences and the Arts or the Copley Medal.

15- Max Planck (1858 - 1947)

Multifaceted in the different sciences and humanities, his most representative legacy was left in physics and mathematics. He is considered the founder of quantum theory.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 and had as students two other winners of the prize awarded by the Swedish Academy: Gustav Hertz and Max von Laue.

16- Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931)

Charles Proteus Steinmetz with Edison

An invention every 15 days if we count it from adulthood. This is the impressive fact that one of the most excellent inventors in history leaves us.

Scientist and great businessman, Edison contributed to improve the contemporary world with inventions such as the phonograph, the viable telephone system or the incandescent filament lamp, his most recognized contribution.

17- Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC - 212 BC)

Engineer, philosopher, astronomer, or inventor. However, he is best known for his contributions to the field of mathematics and physics. Perhaps the most important scientist of classical antiquity.

Known for the Archimedean Principle and the Lever Principle, many of the later advances in mathematics and astronomy are due to the legacy left by this genius.

18- Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Although his artistic work is better known and that is what has given him his name, his scientific side is at the same height in terms of importance.

Botanist, astronomer, engineer or biologist, the greatest Renaissance figure devised drafts on the automobile, the helicopter and made very important contributions on anatomy. All ahead of its time.

19- Louis Gay-Lussac (1778 - 1850)

Physicist and chemist notable for his contribution to science with Charles's Law, one of the most significant gas laws.

Gay-Lussac was a member of the Royal Society and an academic at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In addition, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Sciences and the Arts.

20- Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943)

Another ahead of his time who lived in ostracism precisely because of his advances so modern but not very applicable to the time in which he lived.

Its main legacy is linked to the field of electromagnetism, laying the foundations for alternating current and the polyphase system. With about 300 patents, the invention of the radio is attributed to him among others.

21- Rudolf Hertz (1857 - 1894)

(1857 - 1894) Although his life was short-lived due to his health problems, Hertz was a remarkable physicist who contributed to science with the discovery of the propagation of electromagnetic waves in space, as well as their properties and nature.

Hertz, the unit of measurement for frequency, owes its name to Hertz, because telecommunications owes its existence to this genius of science.

22- Ibn al-Haytham (964 - 1040)

Also known as Alhacén, this physicist, mathematician and astronomer is recognized as one of the fathers of the scientific method through observation and experimentation.

In the field of optics it was where he stood out the most, laying the foundations for the creation of the telescope or microscope.

23- Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703)

Experimental scientist in medicine, biology, chronometry or physics. He was one of the creators of the illustrious Royal Society of London.

Genius who received little recognition due to his poor performance in delving deeper into his investigations. His achievements include Hooke's law of elasticity and his work Micrographia, in which he studies the structures of insects, plants and fossils. First person to use the term "cells."

24- Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852 - 1934)

Spanish physician awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine (together with Camillo Golgi) for his research on the structure of the nervous system.

Specialized in histology and pathological anatomy, his most notable work was linked to the morphology and connective processes of nerve cells (doctrine of the neuron).

25- Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

Possibly the first great scientist in history. He established the first scientific method (analysis and synthesis) that he applied to make the first classifications of living beings.

Although he is considered by many as a person who set back the advancement of science, the truth is that his work served to develop important later studies.

26- Pierre Simon Laplace (1749 - 1827)

Astronomer, physicist and mathematician. The De Laplace Theorem, the Laplace Transform and Scientific Determinism is his most important legacy for science.

27- Michael Servetus (1509 - 1553)

Although his specialties included meteorology, astronomy or physics, his most popular work had to do with anatomy thanks to his research on pulmonary circulation.

28- Erwin Schrodinger (1887 - 1961)

He deployed his most notable work in the field of quantum physics, contributing to quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. Nobel Prize in Physics (1933).

29- Severo Ochoa (1905 - 1993)

Specialist in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine (1959) for the synthesis of RNA, among other contributions.

30- Karl Landsteiner (1868 - 1943)

Pathologist and Biologist. Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine (1930). His most important contribution was the discovery and typification of the blood groups and the infectious nature of poliomyelitis.

31- Alfred Nobel (1833 - 1896)

Famous for naming the award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Inventor of dynamite, he dedicated his life to engineering and chemistry for the arms factory.

32- Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901 - 1976)

Nobel Prize-winning physicist in his field in 1932. His most important contribution was the formulation of the uncertainty principle, a concept that revolutionized quantum physics.

33- Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 - 1855)

"The prince of mathematicians" is known for his number theory, the Gaussian function or his contribution to mathematical analysis or algebra.

34- Tim Berners-Lee (1955)

An expert in scientific computing, he is the creator of the web and the development of the fundamental ideas that structure them. A contribution from which he did not want to profit to give it to the world.

35- Pythagoras (579 BC - 475 BC)

Developer of Hellenic mathematics and arithmetic. The famous Pythagorean Theorem, the Harmony of the spheres or the Pythagorean Tuning are some of its most outstanding formulations.

36-

First woman to obtain a teaching position at a European University (Sweden). Specializing in mathematics, her two most important works are: On the theory of differential equations and On the rotation of a solid body around a fixed point.

37- John Dalton (1766 - 1844)

Chemist and mathematician among other facets. He laid the foundations of modern chemistry thanks to his theory of the atom and the atomic unit of mass. He also described color blindness, the visual disease that does not allow to perceive colors.

38- James Dewey Watson (1928)

Biologist and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1962) for having discovered the DNA molecule. In addition, his contribution to molecular biology has been essential for the subsequent development of studies.

39- René

French mathematician and physicist, as well as one of the forerunners of modern philosophy. An important part of the Scientific Revolution thanks to analytical geometry among other contributions.

40- Robert Boyle (1627 - 1691)

(1646 - 1716) Great mathematician and one of the most important metaphysicians in history. He is considered the father of calculus.

42- Peter Higgs

(1929) British physicist awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (2013) and the Prince of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Research (2013) among other honors. His big milestone? The discovery of the Higgs Boson, better known as "the God particle".

43- Georg Simon Ohm

(1789 - 1854) Physicist and mathematician known for his theory of electric currents (Ohm's Law). The Ohm, unit of electrical resistance, owes its name to this scientist.

44- Isaac Asimov

(1920 - 1992) Although he was a professor of biochemistry, his greatest contribution to science has come from his fist. He has been one of the greatest science popularizers in history, partly thanks to his science fiction stories.

45- Alexander Graham Bell

(1847 - 1922) British scientist popular for his inventions and contribution to telecommunications. In the midst of much controversy over who was the actual inventor, Graham Bell patented the telephone in the United States in 1876.

46- Niels Bohr

(1885 - 1962) Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1922) for his contributions to quantum mechanics and the understanding of the structure of the atom.

47- Mario Molina

(1943) Chemical engineer born in Mexico. He was the first to warn of the Antarctic ozone hole, a discovery that was not recognized until many years later. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995.

48- Alessandro Volta

(1745 - 1827) His great contribution was the development of the electric battery. The volt, the electromotive force of the International System of Units, owes its name to this Italian physicist. He was also the discoverer of methane.

49- Guillermo Marconi

(1874 - 1937) Nobel Prize in Physics (1909) for being one of the promoters of radio transmission, for inventing the wireless telegraphy system and for Marconi's Law.

50- Joseph Fourier

(1768 - 1830) An excellent man in the field of mathematics. Much is owed thanks to the Fourier Series and the Fourier Transform. It contributed to trying to scientifically explain the greenhouse effect.

51- Richard Feynman

(1918-1988) He was an American theoretical physicist known for his work on the integral formulation of the quantum mechanical path, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the superfluidity physics of liquid helium supercooling. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, along with Julian Schwinger and Sin'ichirō Tomonaga.

52- Ernest Rutherford

(1925–1930) He was a New Zealand-born British physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics. The Encyclopedia Britannica considers him the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday.

53- Francis Crick

(1916-2004) He was a British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, best known for being the co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953 with James Watson.

Together with Watson and Maurice Wilkins, he was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discoveries about the molecular structure of nucleic acids and their importance for the transfer of information in living material."

54- Edwin Hubble

(1889-1953) He was an American astronomer who played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology. He is considered one of the most important astronomers of all time.

55- Rosalind Franklin

(1920-1958) He was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer who contributed to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, carbon, and graphite.

Although his works on carbon and viruses were appreciated in his lifetime, his contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely recognized posthumously.

56- Enrico Fermi

(1901-1954) He was an Italian physicist who created the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and the "architect of the atomic bomb." He was one of the few physicists in history to excel both theoretically and experimentally.

57- Carlos Linneo

(1707-1778) He was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalized the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is considered the father of modern taxonomy.

58- Paul Dirac

(1902-1984) He was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.

59- Linus Pauling

(1901-1994) He was an American chemist, biochemist, activist, writer, and educator. He published more than 1,200 articles and books, of which around 850 dealt with scientific topics. He was one of the founders of quantum chemistry and molecular biology.

60- Robert Oppenheimer

(1904-1967) He was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley. He was the warchief of the Los Alamos Laboratory and one of the "fathers of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project.

61- Rachel Carson

(1907-1964) She was an American marine biologist, author, and conservationist whose book Silent Spring and other writings helped advance the global environmental movement.

62- Antoine Lavoisier

(1743-1794) He was a French nobleman and chemist of the 18th century chemical revolution. He had a great influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is widely considered in popular literature as the father of modern chemistry.

63- James Clerk Maxwell

(1831-1879) He was a Scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics. His most notable achievement was formulating the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together electricity, magnetism, and light for the first time as manifestations of the same phenomenon.

64- Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

(1857-1894) He was a German physicist who conclusively proved the existence of electromagnetic waves theorized by James Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light.

65- William Thomson

(1824-1907) He was a Scottish-Irish physicist and mathematical engineer who did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

66- Dimitri Mendéleyev

Source: Photographische Gesellschaft, Berlin, c. 1910.

(1834-1907) He was a chemist of Russian origin. His greatest contribution was to organize the chemical elements in a periodic table, as we know it today; He did all this by organizing the chemical elements according to their atomic mass.

67- Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

Source: http://ihm.nlm.nih.gov/images/B21072 (1849-1936) He was a renowned Russian-born physiologist and psychologist. He developed and researched classical conditioning.

68- John Bardeen

Source: Nobel foundation (1908-1991) American physicist and electrical engineer, twice winning the Nobel Prize in Physics. The first prize was thanks to his contribution to semiconductor research and the discovery of the transistor effect. The second for studies on superconductivity or BCS Theory.

69- Rober Koch

Source: http://ihm.nlm.nih.gov/images/B16692 (1843-1910) He was a German doctor and microbiologist. He discovered the tuberculosis and cholera bacillus. His research on tuberculosis earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1907. He also developed Koch's postulates, which laid the foundations for modern microbiology.

70- Paul Ulrich Villard

Funte:

Portrait of Paul Villard (1860-1934) He was a physicist and chemist of French origin, recognized for the discovery of gamma rays, while investigating the radiation emitted by the element radio in 1900. It was Ernest Rutherford who gave him the name gamma to these rays.