Famous Scientists 

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Here’s list of some famous scientists. Deliberately short, with the aim to provide a quick memory jog or overview. If your looking for more detailed information, Google and Wikipedia have tons of it.   
  
8664_Albert_Einstein Albert Einstein
1879-1955
German-born theoretical physicist who formulated the special and general theories of relativity.  Famous mass equivalence formulae of E=mc2.  Awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics.
4442_Alessandro_Volta

Alessandro Volta 
1745-1827

Italian physicist best known for the development of the voltaic pile (battery).  SI unit of voltage, the volt is named after him.

8664_Alexander_Graham_Bell

Alexander Graham Bell
1847-1922

Scottish scientist and inventor.  Famous for his work on the telephone.

2311_Andre-Marie_Ampere André Marie Ampère
1775-1836
French physicist who worked on electromagnetism.  The SI unit of current, the ampere is named after him.
1321.Benjamin_Franklin

Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790

Founding Fathers of the United States, author, politician, printer, scientist, philosopher, publisher, inventor, civic activist, and diplomat. Invented the lightning rod and the famous kite experiment.

7178_Charles-Augustin_de_Coulomb

Charles Augustin de Coulomb
1736-1806

French physicist who pioneered research into friction and viscosity, the distribution of charge on surfaces and the laws of electrical and magnetic force.The SI unit of charge, the coulomb and Coulomb's law are named after him.

5444_Charles_Babbage

Charles Babbage
1791-1871

English mathematician, philosopher, mechanical engineer and computer scientist.  Originated the idea of a programmable computer.

0654_Charles_Proteus_Steinmetz Charles Proteus Steinmetz
1865-1923
American Mathematician and Electrical Engineer.  Instrumental in developing theories of alternating current t and hysteresis.
0825_Claude_Elwood_Shannon Claude Elwood Shannon
1916-2001
American electrical engineer and mathematician.  Founder of practical digital circuit design theory
0257_Enrico_Fermi

Enrico Fermi
1901-1954

Italian physicist noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor. Awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity.
0245_Frederick_Winslow_Taylor

Frederick Winslow Taylor
1856-1915

American engineer who worked on improving efficiency, specifically in steel production.
1727_Georg_Simon_Ohm

Georg Simon Ohm
1789-1854

German physicist having influence on the development of electrical theory, specifically Ohm’s Law.  SI unit of resistance, the ohm is named after him.

5037_George_Westinghouse

George Westinghouse
1846-1914

American entrepreneur and engineer and founder of the Westinghouse company.  Awarded the AIEE's Edison Medal ' in 1911 for achievement in connection with the alternating current system.
1738_Guglielmo_Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi
1874-1937

Italian inventor known for his development of a practical radiotelegraph system. Shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun.
3301_Gustav_Robert_Kirchhoff

Gustav Robert Kirchhoff
1824-1887

German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits.  Famous for his two laws of circuit theory.

1321_Hans_Oersted

Hans Christian Oersted
1777-1851

Danish physicist and chemist.  Known for discovering the relationship between electricity and magnetism (electromagnetism).

8750_Harry_Nyquist

Harry Nyquist
1889-1976

Swedish engineer who carried out work on information theory,  thermal noise ("Johnson-Nyquist noise") and the stability of feedback amplifiers.

1321_Hendrik_Wade_Bode

Hendrik Wade Bode
1905-982

Pioneer of modern control theory.  Widely known for developing the asymptotic magnitude and phase plot that bears his name.

2437_HeinrichHertz Heinrich Hertz
1857-1894

German physicist who demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic waves.  SI Unit of frequency, Hertz  is named after Him.

5531_Sir_Isaac_Newton

Isaac Newton (Sir)
1643-1727

English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, and natural philosopher. Three laws of motion and the groundwork for classical mechanics.  Regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science.

0245_Jack_S__Kilby

Jack S. Kilby
1923-June

American electrical engineer who co-won the Nobel Prize in physics in 2000.  Inventor of the integrated circuit.
6505_James_Clerk_Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell
1831-1879

Scottish mathematical physicist.  Formulated a set of equations on the basic laws of electricity and magnetism, called Maxwell's equations.

1234_James_Prescott_Joule

James Prescott Joule
1818-1889

English physicist who studied the heat, mechanical work and energy.  Discovered the relation between current through a resistance and heat dissipated, now called Joule's law. SI unit of work, the joule is named after him
8750_James_Watt

James Watt
1736-1819

Scottish inventor and engineer.  Implemented improvements to the steam engine which were fundamental to the Industrial Revolution.
7674_Jean_Baptiste_Joseph_Fourier

Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier
1768- 1830

French mathematician and physicist.  Known for the Fourier series.  The Fourier transform is also named in his honor.
1212_Johann_Carl_Friedrich_Gauss

Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
1777-1855

German mathematician and scientist. Contributed to number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics.  Known as "the prince of mathematicians" and "greatest mathematician since antiquity".

7674_Johann_Christian_Doppler

Johann Christian Andreas Doppler
1803-1853

Austrian mathematician and physicist.  Famous development of the Doppler effect.
1727_Peter_Gustav_Lejeune_Dirichlet

Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
1805-1859

German mathematician credited with the modern "formal" definition of a function.

John_Ambrose_Fleming_1890

John Ambrose Fleming (Sir)
1849–1945

English electrical engineer and physicist. Invented the first vacuum tube and diode. Famous for the left hand rule (for electric motors).

5531_John_von_Neumann

John von Neumann
1903-1957n

Hungarian-born mathematician.  Many contributions to quantum physics and mathematics. Pioneer of the modern digital computer von Neumann algebra.

3377_Leonardo_da_Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci
1452-1519

Italian mathematician, ,architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor,  musician, and painter. Famous for his paintings of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.  Conceptually invented a helicopter, a tank, the use of concentrated solar power, a calculator, a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics, the double hull, and many others.

3301_Leonhard_Euler

Leonhard Euler
1707- 1783

Swiss mathematician and physicist.  Considered to he preeminent mathematician of the 18th century and one of the greatest of all time

1234_Ludwig_Boltzmann

Ludwig Boltzmann
1844-1906

Austrian physicist famous for his contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics.
4035_Max_Karl_Ernst_Ludwig_Planck

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck
1858-1947

German physicist.Considered the founder of quantum theory.
6888_Michael_Faraday Michael Faraday
1791-1867

English chemist and physicist.  One of the best best experimentalist in the history of science, he is commonly regarded as the father of electrical engineering.  SI unit of capacitance, the farad,  Faraday constant and  Faraday's law of induction are named after him.

6518_Niels_Bohr

Niels Bohr 
1885-1962

Danish physicist.  Made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics.
0247_Nikola_Tesla

Nikola Tesla
1856-1943

Serb-American inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. Significant contribution to alternating current, magnetism, polyphase power and the ac motor.  SI unit measuring magnetic flux density, the tesla, is named after him.

6102_Paul_Adrien_Maurice_Dirac

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac 
1902-1984

British theoretical physicist .  Founder of the field of quantum physics and formulated the  “Dirac equation”.  Shared the Nobel Prize in physics for 1933 with Erwin Schrödinger.
4454_Pierre-Simon_Laplace

Pierre-Simon Laplace
1749-1827

French mathematician and astronomer.  Discoverer of Laplace's equation and the Laplace transform is named in honor

3060_Robert_N__Noyce

Robert N. Noyce 
1927- 1990

Nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel.  Awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1978 " for contributions to the silicon integrated circuit.

1727_Samuel_F__B__Morse

Samuel F. B. Morse
1791-1872

American inventor of the Morse Code.
2388_Satyendra_Nath_Bose

Satyendra Nath Bose 
1894-1974

Indian physicist, best known for his work on quantum mechanics. He is honored with the naming of the boson.

4861_Simeon_Denis_Poisson

Simeon Denis Poisson
1781-1840

French mathematician and physicist.

ThomasEdison Thomas Alva Edison
1847-1931
Prolific American inventor, with over 1,000 patents. Most famous for the development of the practical incandescent light bulb. Other notable achievements include the phonograph and advancements on the utility distribution and the motion picture industries.
1715_Vladimir_Zworykin

Vladimir Zworykin
1889-1982

A pioneer of television technology.
6505_Wilhelm_Eduard_Weber

Wilhelm Eduard Weber
1804-1891

German physicist who made significant contributions to wave theory, and electromagnetism. SI unit of magnetic flux, the weber, is named after him.

3377_William_B__Shockley

William B. Shockley
1910-1989

British physicist and inventor who co-invented the transistor.  Awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.

8664_William_D_Coolidge

William D Coolidge
1873- 1975

American physicist contributing to the development tungsten as filaments and the Coolidge tube.

0638_William_R__Hewlett

William R. Hewlett
1913-2001

American engineer and co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).

 

If there are any scientists you would like added to the list, just mention them in the comments. 



Steven McFadyen's avatar Steven McFadyen

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

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  1. Peter's avatar Peter says:
    5/11/2012 1:13 PM

    John Fleming - left and right hand rules.

    • Steven's avatar Steven says:
      5/11/2012 1:13 PM

      Thanks. I've added him to the post.

  2. Anonymous's avatar Anonymous says:
    5/11/2012 1:14 PM

    Thomas Edison?! Light Bulb

    • Steven's avatar Steven says:
      5/11/2012 1:14 PM

      Hard to imagine how I managed to leave Edison of the list. Anyhow the oversight has been corrected and he's now on the list.


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