-
600 BCE
The Father of Science
A Greek philosopher named Thales, who lived around 600 BCE, has been called the “father of science” for his ideas about the natural world. He proposed that natural events such as lightning and earthquakes have natural causes. Up until then, people understood such events to be the acts of gods or other supernatural forces. -
350 BCE
The Greek Philosopher
Prior to Aristotle, other philosophers believed that they could find the truth about the natural world by inward reflection. Aristotle claimed the truth about the natural world could come only from observations of nature and inductive reasoning. He argued that knowledge of nature must be based on evidence and logic. This idea is called empiricism, and it is the basis of science today. -
700
The Father of Chemistry
Geber introduced the scientific method and experimentation in chemistry. His ideas and methods were later adopted by European chemists. Today, Geber is known as the “father of chemistry.” -
1500
Copernicus
Copernicus made the first convincing arguments that the sun—not Earth—is the center of what we now call the solar system. -
The Italian Scientist Galileo
The Italian scientist Galileo greatly improved the telescope, which had just been invented, and made many important discoveries in the field of astronomy. Some of Galileo’s observations provided additional evidence for Copernicus’ sun-centered solar system. -
Marie Curie
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel prize—and she won two of them! She won the 1903 Nobel prize for physics for her discovery of radiation. She won the 1911 Nobel prize for chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium. -
Einstein Rocks Science
Einstein published his general theory of relativity. This theory relates matter and energy. It also explains gravity as a property of space and time. Einstein’s theory is still the accepted explanation for gravity today. -
C. V. Raman
C. V. Raman was an Indian scientist who won the 1930 Nobel prize for physics. He made important discoveries about how light travels through transparent materials. He was also made a knight of the British Empire for his work. -
Mario Molina
Mario Molina is a Mexican-born scientist who won the 1995 Nobel prize for chemistry. He helped to discover how the ozone layer in the atmosphere is being destroyed by pollution. He has received more than 18 honorary degrees for his contributions and even has an asteroid named after him. -
Maria Goeppert-Mayer
Maria Goeppert-Mayer was a German-born American scientist who won the 1963 Nobel prize for physics. She helped to develop a new model of the nucleus of the atom. She was just the second woman to win a Nobel prize for physics, after Marie Curie. -
Ada E. Yonath
Ada E. Yonath was a co-winner of the 2009 Nobel prize in chemistry. She made important discoveries about ribosomes, the structures in living cells where proteins are made. -
Ellen Ochoa
Dr. Ochoa is a leading research scientist and an inventor with several patents to her credit. She is the first Hispanic woman in the world to go into space -
May-Britt Moser
Moser was honored in 2014 for the "discovery of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain." From Nobel.org:
