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460 BCE
Democritus
Democritus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher that formulated the start of the now incredibly prevalent atomic theory. He also formulated the idea of the atom itself. Democritus was truly the very beginning of such sciences and theories, and he can be credited for starting chemistry as a whole. -
450 BCE
Aristotle
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher that was taught by Aristotle, was a very important figure in chemistry. He discovered the atom! Can't get any more simple than that. This discovery will forever hold the trophy as the most important discovery in the history of chemistry. -
420 BCE
Plato
Plato was a true innovator in written dialogue and dialect forms in philosophy. His most important achievement, although, is the creation of the Theory of Forms, a theory that suggests that the world is not real. -
400 BCE
The Alchemist
They believed that you could turn lead into gold. That is now known to be beyond false, but the alchemist were the very start of chemistry as a science. -
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle holds the title of being the first recorded modern chemist. He was also a philosopher and physicist along with being a chemist. He is considered to be the creator of modern chemistry. HE was the pioneer and discoverer of the atomic theory, one of those discoveries being Boyle's Law. -
Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier (or simply Lavoisier) was a French chemist during the 18th century. Lavoisier is most notable for his discovery of the role that oxygen takes during combustion. This discovery clearly advanced chemistry as a whole and completely widened the minds of chemists during that time period. He also recognized and named the elements hydrogen and oxygen. -
John Dalton
John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist, and meteorologist. He is known for his research in color blindness and, more importantly, his introduction of atomic theory into chemistry. He is also the creator of the "Billiard Ball" model. -
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist that played the most crucial role in the entirety of chemical history. Mendeleev created the first period table of elements, one that still stands to this day, just heavily updated and revised. Mendeleev is considered to be one of, if not, the most important people in chemistry history. -
J.J. Thompson
J.J. Thomspon, the discoverer of the electron. Clearly, this was one of, if not, the biggest discovery in the history of chemistry. The electron was the first subatomic particle ever discovered. He also created the "Plum Pudding" atom model. -
Marie and Pierre Curie.
Marie and Pierre Curie are regarded as the pioneers in radiation discovery and research. They discovered multiple elements, polonium and radium, both of them being radioactive. They unintentionally boosted the industry of radioactive products. This time period is not seen very brightly as of today due to the severely dangerous and lethal nature of radiation. Marie eventually succumbed to her own discovery by radiation poisoning. -
Planck's Quantum Theory of Light
Planck's Quantum Theory of light explains that the energy of light is proportionate to it's energy, no matter the circumstances. -
The Photoelectric Effect
The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons -
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, the most well known physicist of all time, made great progress in the field of chemistry with one thing: His theory of quantum mechanics. This set the baseline for quantum physics and chemistry. -
Robert Millikan
Robert Millikan, an American physicist, was quite the subject. Millikan is credited for the discovery of the Photoelectric Effect. This effect states that electrons are emitted when a photosensitive material is exposed to light. This principal is very important to modern chemistry. -
Earnest Rutherford
He did the famous Gold-Foil Experiment. He bombarded gold foil with alpha particles to asses whether nucleus is in the center of the atom. A few alpha particles bounced off of the foil, proving that the nucleus is in the center of the atom. -
Neils Bohr
Bohr created the first model of the atomic structure of an atom, the Bohr Atom. It has the nucleus in the center, protons and neutrons also in the center, and rings around the outside representing electron valence levels. This model has been proven to be structurally incorrect, but it still stands as the historical first model of the atom. -
Henry G.J. Mosely
As an English chemist, Henry G.J. Mosely discovered one very important concept: the atomic number. This discovery further fueled the discovery of many other things in the chemical world, and advanced the periodic table. -
Werner Heisenburg
Werner Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist that was one of the key developers of the quantum theory. He discovered the Uncertainty Principle, which states that you cannot know the exact position and orientation of an atom at any given time. -
Schrodinger's Equation
The function Schrodinger's equation is to evaluate the allowed energy levels of electrons. This allows for energy quantization, which is good for research and data. -
James Chadwick
James Chadwick is a very important figure in the chemistry world purely because of his discovery of the neutron. This discovery will advance research farther than ever imagined at the time. Chadwick was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.
