Science has accompanied us since prehistoric times and, therefore, many minds have stood out for their brilliance. A tribute to all those scientists who have made the world a better place.
Science, that ordered system of knowledge that studies and investigates the different phenomena that surround us, accompanies us from prehistory to the present, because from the discovery of fire to the first trip to space, knowledge has propelled our species into unexplored terrain.
Science rests on the shoulders of giants, a series of experts both contemporary and past who, with their brilliant minds and tireless efforts, have cemented what we know today as collective scientific knowledge. Knowledge, without a doubt, is the best inheritance that a human can leave to society before his departure.
According to UNESCO, in 2013 there were 7.8 million people in the world dedicated entirely to scientific research. Each and every one of them deserves a place on this list, as their work and contributions are invaluable. As the reading space is as finite as your time, we will choose to show you the 20 best and most illustrious scientists in history. Do not miss them.
- We recommend you read: “The 7 differences between Science and Philosophy”
Who are the most important scientists in history?
There are no prefaces that are worthwhile, because today we have a lot of cloth to cut and many formulas to enunciate. Of course, we will try to move a little away from “the average” in some specific cases, becausethe most disadvantaged ethnic groups or genders also require a space in this list. Today every prodigious mind shines, regardless of its skin color or biological sex. Let’s get to it.
1. Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Curie is famous all over the world, as she is the firstwoman to receive the Nobel Prizeand the first professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. This eminence in the world of physics earned through genius everything that a woman could not obtain in Poland in her time: recognition and opportunities.
The multiple discoveries with her husband earned her all these awards, among which are the description of two very important elements: radium and polonium.
2. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
When this genius is quoted, biologists stand up. Charles Darwinenunciated natural selection with his book “The Origin of Species”, among many other musings that cemented what is now evolutionary biology. Thanks to him we know that living beings adapt to the pressures of the environment and, with his knowledge, we have learned to explain much of what surrounds us in the animal world.
3. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
We changed the beards and the trips for the cassocks and the convent, because Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar and naturalist Catholic, enunciated the 3 laws that today remain the essential bases of genetics.
Through his studies with peas, Mendel was able to describe the patterns of allelic inheritance in living beings. Terms like homozygosity, heterozygosity or genetic recombination would not be possible if this wonderful thinker had not existed.
4. Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
We go back in time and go to the shade of a tree, where a thinker rests meditatively until an apple falls on his head, or so the legend goes.
Describing Newton’s achievements in a few lines is a challenge: from the enunciation of his 3 laws of dynamics to his studies with light, through the development of calculus and the enunciation of universal gravitation, Newton has laid so many foundations in physics and mathematics that we cannot conceive these disciplines today without their existence.
5. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
We travel further back, because just in the year of Newton’s birth another invaluable scientist died. Galileo Galileiinvented the telescope, which is said soon, which allowed him to glimpse the moon and investigate the milky way. Minds like this teach us that not even the sky is the limit.
6. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
The second woman on the list, a real rarity considering the era in which we find ourselves. Florence Nightingale is considered themother of modern professional nursing, because, with visual representations in the form of statistical graphs, she evaluated and cemented the foundations of what we consider today an effective medical care.
She was a decisive inspiration for the creation of the Red Cross, but also for the feminist current that fights for women’s equality today. Against family marriages and in favor of the right of female self-determination, few cases are as clear as this of a self-made woman.
7. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
As its name suggests, Louis Pasteur is the inventor of the pasteurization process, which allows us to consume dairy products at will without any infectious repercussions. In addition to this, this scientist contributed to the study of optical isomerism andlaid the foundations of the microbial theory of disease.
8. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)
Known above all for his work in the area of electromagnetism, Nikola Tesla was a basis for forging the foundations of modern systems for the use of electric power by alternating current (AC), a factlinked to the emergence of the second industrial revolution.
9. Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934)
Not all thinkers catch us far away, because this is one of the cases of a prodigious Spanish-speaking mind. We are facing a Nobel prize, in this case for the study of the structure of the nervous system. For this reason and many others, Santiago Ramón y Cajal isconsidered the father of neuroscienceand the brain that developed the “doctrine of the neuron”, that is, the fact that brain tissue is made up of normal cells.
10. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
What about this physicist that we don’t all know? In the first place, that the legend that he failed in mathematics is not true, since Einstein exceeded in this field even more than in physics. The creator of the theory of relativitydoes not require more meanings or explanations, because “E = MC2” is the most famous formula in history.
11. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
Leonardo Da Vinci is a scientist and inventor “of the book”, since he is classified, simultaneously, as a painter, anatomist, architect, paleontologist, artist, botanist, scientist, writer, sculptor, philosopher, engineer, inventor, musician and poet. Among his most famous inventions are the helicopter proto-propeller, a flying machine, the parachute or the giant crossbow. Of course, da Vinciis the archetype of universal genius.
12. Archimedes (287 BC-212 BC)
After a dizzying time jump, we place ourselves in Ancient Greece to tell you about Archimedes of Syracuse. Among his advances in the field of physics are his foundations in hydrostatics, statics and the demonstration and description of lever theory. As this genius said in his day, “give me a foothold and I will move the world.”
13. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Like Galileo, Copernicus specialized in the area of mathematics and astronomy. Among many other things, he postulated the heliocentric theory of the solar system, that is, thatall the planets move around the Sun. For this reason, he is known as an essential piece in the scientific revolution of the Renaissance.
14. Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)
This scientist wasone of the 4 discoverers of the molecular structure of DNAin 1953. This special case perfectly exemplifies the decline of women in the scientific field, since Watson and Crick, who took all the credit for the size of discovery and were her companions, described her as “a feminist who complained about trivialities”. According to Watson himself, “the best place for a feminist was someone else’s lab.” So much intelligence for so little empathy.
15. Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907)
A scientist focused on chemistry essential to modern history, he discovered the underlying pattern in whatwe now know as the table of chemical elements. Nothing more to say.
16. Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Michael Faraday is probably one of the most transcendental but least famous scientists in history. His work on electromagnetism, diamagnetism and electrolysishas allowed us to develop essential technologies for everyday life. This scientist took electricity “one step further.”
17. Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
Science is not only presented between numbers, because books also contain essential knowledge at both an informative and scientific level. Asimov was the living proof of this, because in addition to being a professor of biochemistry, he stood out as an excellent writer and disseminator. If you have not read the trilogy of the foundation, a real wonder awaits you hidden between the pages of a book.
18. Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941)
Unfortunately, we find the first and last black scientist on the list, and that is that you have to dive through the literature to find a researcher who is not of white ethnicity. This underground scientist investigated cells under normal conditions, a fact that allowed us to understand how these microscopic bodies function in human architecture.
We take a small parenthesis to highlight other important black thinkers: Granville T. Woods, Jan Ernst Matzeliger, George Washington Carver and many other important scientists have left their mark, but unfortunately they were buried by a markedly racist mentality in their times. We encourage you to read about them, becauseknowledge knows no skin tones.
19. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
“Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.” With this grim quote we introduce Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. He was one of the most important participants of the Manhattan Project, which managed to develop the first nuclear bombs implemented in World War II, with all that this entails. Facts like this show us that science gives life, but that it can also deprive us of it.
20. Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)
Best known for the prizes awarded in his name, Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemical scientist who is credited with the invention of dynamite, which allowed him to found the Bofors company, a company dedicated to the mass production of cannons and other weapons.
Summary
As we have seen in this extensive list, the scientists who cement the knowledge we have today are almost infinite. We have left many more professionals in the pipeline, but, with this list, we paint an overview of human thought on the canvas of our history.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.