Over the years, there have been many great scientific minds that have contributed to scientific and technological progress. With advancements in technology, these men have unlocked new ways of doing things and fundamentally changed how we live our lives today. Now, let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest scientists of all time!
10. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Throughout his life, Pasteur worked in chemistry and microbiology. His inventions have saved tens of millions of lives. Among his inventions were cures for puerperal fever, anthrax, rabies, and other diseases. He was the first scientist to study microbial fermentation in food elements. The concept of pasteurization describes the process of destroying harmful bacteria in milk and other beverages by heating them to a specific temperature and allowing them to cool. Pasteur discovered that bacteria were responsible for sour alcohol.
9. Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
As a fourth grade dropout, Faraday fell into a state of obscurity and became one of the greatest scientists of his generation. It was Faraday who discovered carbon and chlorine and contributed to diamagnetism, electrolysis, electrochemistry, and electromagnetic induction. It was his electromagnetic devices that led to the development of electric motors. Aside from the isolation of benzene, he also published papers on the condensation of gasses and optical deceptions.
8. Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Thomas Edison was not only one of the greatest scientists, but he was also one of the most successful businessmen in history. He founded General Electric, an engineering conglomerate with more than 300,000 employees. A prolific patent filer, the “Wizard of Menlo Park” would often work more than 20 hours a day. His inventions include the electric light bulb, the phonograph, the kinetoscope, and the storage battery.
7. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Darwin compiled evidence over a period of more than two decades and published his findings in his book On the Origin of Species despite skepticism and disbelief. He proved that all species are descended from common ancestors, and that evolution is based on a process called “natural selection.”
6. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
This Serbian-born scientist discovered the rotating magnetic field, as well as the alternating-current (AC) electrical system. But his achievements didn’t end there. Aside from developing modern electricity, Tesla also invented transistors, remote controls, motors and a whole host of other machines. He did not reveal most of his discoveries, which later were used by other researchers. One reading of Tesla’s book would trigger him to recite it in its entirety at will, and he was fluent in eight languages.
5. Aristotle (382BC-322BC)
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist who developed physics, astronomy, geometry, botany, zoology, and chemistry. He was Alexander the Great’s teacher. Biologists are aware of plant and animal species classification, but only a fraction of his work remains. Plants and animals collected by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago were classified based on their characteristics.
4. Marie Curie (1867-1934)
As the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, Marie Curie holds both records. The first Nobel she won was for exploring radioactivity and applying it to X-rays, and the second she won for discovering radium in 1911. In 1934 she invented the first mobile X-ray machine that helped injured soldiers on the battlefield. Unfortunately, she was killed by her own invention.
3. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy, but today he is credited with being the father of modern science. He built the world’s first telescope and aimed it towards the sky. He discovered that the surface of the moon was pitted and mountainous, and he also proved that the Earth revolves around the Sun instead of the other way around, as was believed at the time. Galilei’s discoveries got him in trouble with the Catholic church, which forced him to drop his theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. He also made contributions to the sciences of motion. His work Two New Sciences gave rise to the science of materials strength.
2. Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727)
One of the greatest scientists ever was Sir Isaac Newton, who invented the laws of mechanics and the theory of gravity, which proved how planets revolve around the sun. It was he who invented calculus in order to explain the theory of gravity because no other principle could explain it. Newton also discovered the three laws of motion and developed what we now call white light.
1. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Einstein is considered to be the most influential scientist the world has ever seen. He had a reputation for thinking with the greatest amount of originality. He developed the unified field theory to explain gravitation, subatomic phenomena, and electromagnetism. A key principle of Einstein’s theory of relativity is that E=mc2. For his discovery of the photoelectric effect, which forms the basis of quantum theory, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.
