Page 287 - DK Children's Encyclopedia

Scientists Charles Darwin (1809–1882)
English biologist whose 1859 book On the Origin of Species argued that
For thousands of years, scientists have made all sorts of new species can evolve from existing ones by natural selection.
important inventions and discoveries. Today, they are still Ada Lovelace (1815–1852)
answering important questions about the universe. English mathematician who put together the world’s first computer
program. She wrote it for a never-completed mechanical computer built
Aristotle (384–322 bce) by the inventor Charles Babbage.
Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. His ideas on physics are out of
date but he was a good biologist, pointing out many facts about animals Gregor Mendel (1822–1884)
for the first time. Austrian science teacher and monk. He carried out careful experiments
on plants to show how features such as flower color and seed shape are
Aristarchus of Samos (around 310–230 bce) passed on to the next generation.
Greek astronomer who first suggested that the Earth goes around the
sun, instead of the other way round, as was thought before. Copernicus Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)
came up with the same idea much later on. French chemist who proved that tiny living things cause rotting and
decay. He also showed how people could be protected from diseases
Zhang Heng (78–139 ce) by immunizing them.
Chinese scientist and mathematician who invented a device that would
detect earthquakes up to 310 miles (500 km) away. Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907)
Russian chemist who created the first periodic table of elements. He
Galen (around 129–200) arranged the elements in increasing size of their atoms and whether
Greek doctor who studied the parts of the human body. Although many they have similar properties.
of his ideas were later proved to be wrong, people treated his writings
on medicine very seriously for more than 1,300 years. Marie Curie (1867–1934)
Polish–French physicist. Along with her husband Pierre, she was one of
Alhazen (around 965–1039) the first people to research radioactivity, and discovered the radioactive
Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He was probably the elements radium and polonium. She won Nobel prizes in 1903 and 1911.
best scientist of medieval times, writing a major work on the theory of
light and vision. Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937)
New Zealand physicist who discovered that all atoms have a tiny central
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) nucleus containing most of their mass (weight). He won the Nobel Prize
Polish astronomer who showed both that the Earth was not standing for Chemistry in 1908.
still, but instead spinning on its axis once a day, and that it orbits the sun
once a year, instead of the sun orbiting the Earth. Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
German-born physicist best known for his theories of relativity,
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) including that matter and energy can be turned into each other
Italian physicist and astronomer. He was the first person to use a (described by his famous equation E = MC ). He won the Nobel Prize
2
telescope in astronomy, discovering among other things that Jupiter for Physics in 1921.
had moons. Alfred Wegener (1880–1930)
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) German weather scientist who suggested that the Earth’s continents
German astronomer who improved Copernicus’s theory that the Earth slowly move over time (continental drift).
and other planets moved around the sun, by showing that their orbits
are ellipses (oval shapes), not circles. Neils Bohr (1885–1962)
Danish physicist who added to Ernest Rutherford’s ideas to suggest that
William Harvey (1578–1657) electrons move around an atom in fixed orbits. He won the Nobel Prize
English doctor who discovered that the heart pumps blood around the for Physics in 1922.
body, pushing it outward through arteries and back through veins. Dorothy Hodgkin (1910–1994)
Isaac Newton (1642–1727) English chemist who worked out how to discover the shapes of
English physicist and mathematician who explained gravity for the first complicated molecules in the body, such as penicillin and insulin. She
time. In physics, he introduced his famous “three laws of motion,“ which won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964.
explain how objects move and interact with each other. Alan Turing (1912–1954)
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) English mathematician and founder of computer science. During World
Swedish biologist who introduced the idea of naming living things by War II he helped crack German military codes, and later he was involved
giving them a name in Latin, for example Homo sapiens for humans. with some of the first practical computers designed for general use.
James Hutton (1726–1797) Francis Crick (1916–2004) and James Watson (born 1928)
Scottish geologist whose work showed that the Earth’s rocks formed Crick (an English physicist) and Watson (an American biologist)
over a huge time period as a result of very slow changes. co-discovered the spiral (double helix) shape of DNA in 1953. With a
Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) third scientist, they won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1962.
French chemist, often called the father of modern chemistry. He Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958)
introduced the idea of a chemical element, and named the gas oxygen. English chemist who provided much of the evidence that Francis Crick
Alessandro Volta (1745–1827) and James Watson used in discovering the spiral shape of DNA.
Italian physicist who in 1800 invented the electric battery, which first Lynn Margulis (1938–2011)
allowed a steady electric current to be produced. The unit of electricity, American biologist who developed the theory that the complicated cells
the volt, is named in his honor. of animals and plants came from smaller bacteria-sized cells that started
Michael Faraday (1791–1867) to live inside each other.
English physicist and chemist. He showed that a moving magnet creates Stephen Hawking (born 1942)
an electric current in a wire and invented the theory of electric and English physicist who has helped us to understand black holes, the origin
magnetic fields to explain his discoveries. of the Universe, and the nature of time.

285

US_284-285_Reference.indd 285 16/05/2017 16:51