Top 10 Greatest Scientists

Book CoverRecommended book 100 Scientists Who Shaped World History at Amazon.

  • The story of chemists, physicists, biologists and remarkable scientists who increased our grasp of almost everything around us.

A list of the top 10 scientists of all time with short profiles on their most significant achievements.


1. Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1726) Newton was a polymath who made investigations into a whole range of subjects including mathematics, optics, physics, and astronomy. In his Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, he laid the foundations for classical mechanics, explaining the law of gravity and the laws of motion.

2. Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) Pasteur contributed greatly towards the advancement of medical sciences developing cures for rabies, anthrax and other infectious diseases. Also invented the process of pasteurisation to make milk safer to drink. He probably saved more lives than any other person.

Galileo 3. Galileo (1564–1642) Creating one of the first modern telescopes, Galileo revolutionised our understanding of the world, successfully proving the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around. His work Two New Sciences laid the groundwork for the science of Kinetics and strength of materials.

4. Marie Curie (1867–1934) Polish physicist and chemist. Discovered radiation and helped to apply it in the field of X-ray. She won the Nobel Prize in both Chemistry and Physics.

5. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) Revolutionised modern physics with his general theory of relativity. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921) for his discovery of the Photoelectric effect, which formed the basis of Quantum Theory.

6. Charles Darwin (1809–1882) Darwin developed his theory of evolution against a backdrop of disbelief and scepticism. He collected evidence over 20 years and published his conclusions in On the Origin of Species (1859).

7. Otto Hahn (1879–1968) Hahn was a German chemist who discovered nuclear fission (1939). He was a pioneering scientist in the field of radiochemistry and discovered radioactive elements and nuclear isomerism (1921). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944.

8. Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Tesla worked on electromagnetism and AC current. He is credited with many patents from electricity to radio transmission and played a key role in the development of modern electricity.

9. James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) Maxwell made great strides in understanding electromagnetism. His research in electricity and kinetics laid the foundation for quantum physics. Einstein said of Maxwell, “The work of James Clerk Maxwell changed the world forever.”

10. Aristotle aristotle (384 BCE–322 BCE) A great early Greek scientist who made many types of research in the natural sciences including botany, zoology, physics, astronomy, chemistry, meteorology and geometry.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Ten Greatest Scientists” Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net. Published 12th Jan. 2011. Last updated 2 March 2018.

Notable missing scientists

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) – English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, electrolysis and electrochemistry. Discovered Carbon and Chlorine.

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) Scottish biologist who discovered penicillin. Shared Nobel Prize in 1945 with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain, who helped produce penicillin on a large scale.

dimitri-Mendeleev Dmitri Mendeleev (1834 –  1907) Russian Chemist. Formulated the Periodic Law and standardised the Periodic Table of Elements which is still used today. Mendeleev wrote Principles of Chemistry (1868–1870) a classic textbook for many decades.

100 Scientists Who Shaped World History

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100 Scientists Who Shaped World History at Amazon

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81 Comments

  • what about m.faraday

  • I want to know about science and mathematical and biology and other

  • Who is the richest woman in the world

  • who ever studied these 10 scientist are amazing well coming to my science project has been a succsess because reading and putting it into my own words made me get a incredable 99 points at school even though i am only eleven and i am adopted thanks so much you rock so badely keep putting more and more information on cant wait love you soooooooooooooooooo much.

    from
    paige

  • I think Newton,Einstein,Galileo,Maxwell and Faraday are great scientist

    • games clerk was not a scientist he was a proffesser in all time

  • No I disagree with this list and the list in the comments for one reason, YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT MICHAEL FARADAY!!! . He invented the electric motor, generator, a primitive bunsen burner discovered Benzene and electromagnetism. Tesla was great scientist and deserves his place but he would not have been the man he was without Faraday. in my opinion top 2 most influential scientists are Faraday and Newton. But please don’t mean to rant but stop forgetting Faraday all the time. Faraday completely revolutionised Humanity since practically everything we use is technology, and all technology stem from Faraday’s inventions and discoveries and with Maxwell’s help, took one step further in his electromagnetism theory.

  • Well, though fingers are not all equal in heights; none is however less important. The tallest among them might not be the most relevant in certain situations. In any case, Kudos to them all. Their impacts are sacrosanct in the world’s history.

  • One cannot re-arrange the list in terms of their importance. They are all greatest scientists and have equally contributed in enriching our knowledge.

  • yes these all one are ever best in the world

  • Sorry,…
    The list is wrong.
    The correct list is:
    1.Albert Einstein
    2.Isaac Newton
    3.Galileo Galilei
    4.Nikola Tesla
    5.James Clerk Maxwell
    6.Marie Curie
    7.Louis Pasteur
    8.Otto Hahn
    9.Aristotle
    10.Charles Robert Darwin

    • Abhishek akapali: I largely agree with you, except that you have Darwin still on your list. I do not see him as a great scientist, but as someone who draws conclusions from observations without getting hard evidence.

    • Excuse me but what about Alexander Fleming? He is pretty important.