Historically, people have come up with ideas, craftsmanship and inventions to help them grow and become powerful. They also did developments in several fields such as science, engineering, mathematics and medicine to help people and to gain popularity. Some scientists are incomparable with other scientists due to their great achievements, contributions and accomplishments. Such scientists are great because their contributions have been remarkable to the society and the world. Who are the 10 greatest scientists of all time and in history?
The list of ten greatest scientists in history who changed the world with their inventions and discoveries:
10. Archimedes
Archimedes is one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He was a Greek mathematician, engineer, physicist, inventor, and astronomer. He was one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Archimedes perfected a method of integration which allowed him to find areas, surface areas, volumes, centers of mass of different objects. He found the world-famous Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy. He was also the first to establish the theory and law of the lever. Archimedes found the accurate value of pi. He also found the Archimedes’ screw which was initially a device to remove bilge water. Today, it is in use to pump liquids and granulated solids. With the devising of few defensive war machines by Archimedes helped save his native Syracuse from invasion.
9. Marie Curie
Marie Curie was the world’s greatest female scientist. She was the first ever women to win a Nobel Prize. Curie was also the first women and person to win two Nobel prizes and in two different sciences. The Polish-French physicist and chemist is known for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She discovered two elements namely radium and polonium. After achieving success in the field of radioactivity, she went on to continue the work in the field of treating cancer using radioactivity. During World War I, she provided mobile radiography units for X-ray services. She found the Curie Institutes in Paris and in Warsaw which are major centres of medical research today.
8. Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath. He was one of the greatest inventors in history. He was so versatile that his contributions were in the fields of invention, engineering, mathematics, painting, writing, sculpting, architecture, literature, science, music, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, history, and cartography. Some of his greatest accomplishments are:
- Sketched the first parachute, first airplane, first tank, first rifle, first paddle boat, first helicopter, first swinging bridge and first motor car.
- Designed machines of war.
- Constructed possibly the first robot known as Leonardo’s robot.
- Designed the first modern diving suit.
- Did a detailed study of human and animal anatomies.
- Created the world famous Mona Lisa painting.
7. Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison is one of the America’s greatest inventors. He was a businessman and inventor. Edison is famous for his invention of electric bulb. The prolific inventor holds 1,093 US patents to his name. He invented and developed several devices throughout his life that influenced several lives around the world. Apart from Edison’s incandescent electric bulb, he also invented phonograph, telegraph, kinetograph, mechanical vote recorder, stock ticker, and alkaline storage batteries. He helped America build its economy from a time when America was at its worst. He was dubbed as “The Wizard of Menlo Park”. Thomas Alva Edison was the first to apply the principles of mass production.
6. Stephen Hawking
The great scientist, theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author – Stephen Hawking was born exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo. He was born in Oxford, England. His Hawking radiation theory is the most famous of all his scientific works which predicts that black holes can emit radiations. His scientific work also includes gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity. He was the first to set out a theory on cosmology. Stephen Hawking was a strong supporter of many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. In 2002, Stephen Hawking was ranked at number 25 on the list of BBC’s 100 Greatest Britons.
5. Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur is one the greatest microbiologists to ever live. The French biologist and chemist is known for his breakthrough in the causes and prevention of diseases. He was so famous in the field of germ research that it obtained him the name as one of the fathers of germ theory. Louis Pasteur is also popularly known as the “father of microbiology”. His discoveries in the field of disease prevention for diseases such as anthrax, rabies, chicken cholera and swine erysipelas were some of his greatest achievements to save people. His discoveries saved millions of people worldwide. Even today his contributions save millions of people. Apart from his discoveries on disease prevention, he is better known for a technique of treating milk and wine known as pasteurization.
4. Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist and polymath. He was one of the greatest physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher to ever live. Galileo Galilei is famous of his contribution to the scientific revolution. Galileo is a central figure in the transition of natural philosophy to modern science. His contribution to science, physics, mathematics, astronomy and engineering gained him the names “father of modern physics”, “father of the scientific method” and “father of science”. Some of his major and important contributions to the scientific world are:
- Galilean telescope
- Theory stating that pendulums were isochronous
- Invention of a hydrostatic balance
- Early version of a modern thermometer
- Improved the military compass
- The heliocentric model of Venus
- Discovery of the four largest moons of Jupiter
3. Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American scientist, inventor, electrical engineer, physicist, futurist and mechanical engineer. Tesla is best known for his contribution to the design of modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He is perhaps one of the greatest scientists from USA to ever live. Tesla made attempts for inventions which could help him get patents and fame. Tesla conducted several experiments using mechanical generators, electrical discharge tubes and early X-ray imaging systems. He built the first ever wireless-controlled boat. In 1887, he invented the induction motor which is one of the 10 greatest inventions of all time. In 1960, the General Conference on Weights and Measures named the SI unit of magnetic flux density as tesla to honor the late Nikola Tesla.
2. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is a world-famous German-born theoretical physicist who is known for the theory of relativity. Theory of relativity is one of the two pillars of modern physics. In 1905, Albert Einstein came with breakthrough theories on equivalence of matter and energy, theory of relativity, photoelectric effect and Brownian motion. He has also worked on cosmology, thermodynamic fluctuations, Schrodinger gas model and Einstein refrigerator. He published more than 300 scientific papers. In 1921, Einstein received the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in theoretical physics, especially for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Today, everyone remember him with the synonym E = mc².
1. Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time. He is one of the greatest scientists to ever live. The mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian and author from England has been a key figure in the scientific revolution. His contribution to the scientific community is tremendous. Some of Newton’s major contributions are:
- Three laws of motion which laid the foundation to classical mechanics.
- He was the first to derive a formula for gravitational force as a universal force.
- Newton discovered and formulated the famous binomial theorem.
- He is credited for developing infinitesimal calculus.
- Newton’s Principia is one of the most important works in the history of science.
- He is credited to a world-famous breakthrough in the field of optics.
He found several things for science and has developed several theories credited to his name in the field of science.