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287
Archimedes birth
He successfully proved that silver was mixed with the gold crown that was made for King Hiero II. He coined the famous word “eureka”, which is almost unanimously used to express great joy upon any new discovery. The Claw of Archimedes also known as “the ship shaker” was designed by him for the purpose of defending his home city Syracuse. -
384
Aristotle birth
Aristotle is regarded by many as the most intelligent man to ever walk on this planet. Aristotle is regarded by many as the most intelligent man to ever walk on this planet -
Apr 15, 1452
Leonardo da Vinci birth
Leonardo da Vinci had dyslexia, when he made notes on his inventions it was all written in reverse, which made it hard for others to dig through his notes and steal his ideas. And he figured out why the entire moon is dimly visible when it is a thin crescent. Its nightside is lit by light reflected from Earth, which appears 50 times brighter from the moon than the full moon appears here. -
Dec 14, 1503
Nostradamus
Nostradamus joined the University of Avignon to gain the Bachelor's degree in medicine. However, the university was closed due to outbreak of plague and Nostradamus was forced to research on his own for medicines and remedies. Nostradamus joined the University of Avignon to gain the Bachelor's degree in medicine. However, the university was closed due to outbreak of plague and Nostradamus was forced to research on his own for medicines and remedies. -
Feb 15, 1564
Galileo Galilei birth
The middle finger of Galileo’s right hand has been exhibited at the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy. Einstein was Galileo’s biggest fan. “All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it,” wrote Einstein. “Propositions arrived at by purely logical means are completely empty as regards reality. Because Galileo saw this, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics—indeed, of modern science altogether.” -
Isaac Newton birth
He was born quite premature: an estimated 11 to 15 weeks early. His mother said he could fit in a quart-sized cup upon birth. But it probably wasn't his fault. A 1979 examination of Newton's hair showed astronomical amounts of mercury, probably as a result of all of his alchemy experiments. Too much mercury can drive a man mad, of course, and that may have been exactly what it did to Isaac Newton. Then again, maybe not: the other side of the argument is that Newton never lost his hair (although -
Maria Sibylla Merian birth
Like the insects she painted so exquisitely, Maria Merian also underwent an impressive metamorphosis from craftswoman to artist and scientist. Her painstaking observation skills were to prove handy in counteracting the general belief at the time in the Aristotelian idea that insects came from a “spontaneous generation of rotting mud”. -
Benjamin Franklin birth
Franklin started out with a passion in writing and wrote many writings immediately after starting work. However, his older brother refused to publish his writings. After more work and effort, he was able to take his writings elsewhere to get published, many of which are famous today. He designed the glass harmonica, or armonica, in 1761. It creates musical tones by using different sized glass bowls. It’s kind of like the old-fashined version of rubbing your fingers on a crystal glass. -
Charles Darwin birth
For Darwin's 25th birthday on February 12, 1834, Captain FitzRoy named a mountain after him. Yup, Mount Darwin. It is the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego. Darwin attended Edinburgh University in hopes of becoming a physician like his father, but soon abandoned the idea because he couldn't stand the sight of blood. -
Marie Curie birth
With little money she survived on buttered bread and tea and occasionally she fainted from hunger. In 1934, Curie went to the Sancellemoz Sanatorium in Passy, France, to try to rest and regain her strength. She died there on July 4, 1934, of aplastic anemia, which can be caused by prolonged exposure to radiation. -
Albert Einstein birth
He could have been the President of Israel. When Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, died, Einstein was offered the position, but he declined. He loved to sail. Ever since university, Einstein sailed as a hobby. But by his own admission, he never made a particularly good sailor. In fact, he didn’t even know how to swim. -
Maria Goeppert Mayer birth
During World War II, she worked for the Manhattan Project at Columbia on isotope separation, and with Edward Teller at the Los Alamos Laboratory on the development of the Teller's "Super" bomb. Maria was brilliant, but she also had a tendency to drag her heels when it came time to write up her work. Whether through an excess of rigor or modesty, at critical moments in her life she sat on important research, giving others the chance to snatch her discoveries from her. -
Gertrude Elion birth
One of the first drugs produced by the pair was for leukemia and helped many children with the disease to survive. Other drugs they created have been used to fight malaria, infections, and gout, as well as help with organ transplantations. The start of World War II created more opportunities for women in industry. Elion was able to obtain a few quality-control jobs in food and consumer-product companies before being hired at Burroughs-Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline) in 1944, where she began a