a Finnish Lutheran bishop, professor of physics and theology, politician and statesman. In 1736, he studied at The Royal Academy of Turku. He became accomplished in numerous fields such as philosophy and mathematics and from 1753 was a Professor of Physics and in 1762 a Professor of Theology. In politics, he was a member of the Hats (party) in the Swedish Ri...

a Finnish Lutheran bishop, professor of physics and theology, politician and statesman. In 1736, he studied at The Royal Academy of Turku. He became accomplished in numerous fields such as philosophy and mathematics and from 1753 was a Professor of Physics and in 1762 a Professor of Theology. In politics, he was a member of the Hats (party) in the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. In 1788, he succeeded Jakob Haartman as the Bishop of Turku, which was then a diocese of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. He held this position until his death in 1802. In 1751, Gadolin was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Jakob Gadolin was the father of chemist Johan Gadolin.

a Swedish/Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist. Gadolin discovered a "new earth" containing the first rare-earth compound yttrium, which was later determined to be a chemical element. He is also considered the founder of Finnish chemistry research, as the second holder of the Chair of Chemistry at the Royal Academy of Turku (or Abo Kungliga Akademi). ...

a Swedish/Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist. Gadolin discovered a "new earth" containing the first rare-earth compound yttrium, which was later determined to be a chemical element. He is also considered the founder of Finnish chemistry research, as the second holder of the Chair of Chemistry at the Royal Academy of Turku (or Abo Kungliga Akademi). Gadolin was ennobled for his achievements and awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir and the Order of Saint Anna.

a French mathematician born in Bourg-la-Reine. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a problem standing for 350 years. His work laid the foundations for Galois theory and group theory, two major branches of abstract algebra, and the subfield of Galo...

a French mathematician born in Bourg-la-Reine. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a problem standing for 350 years. His work laid the foundations for Galois theory and group theory, two major branches of abstract algebra, and the subfield of Galois connections. He died at age 20 from wounds suffered in a duel.

an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who discovered animal electricity. He is recognized as the pioneer of bioelectromagnetics. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark.[5]:67–71 This was one of the first forays into the study of bioelectricity, a field that still studies...

an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who discovered animal electricity. He is recognized as the pioneer of bioelectromagnetics. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark.[5]:67–71 This was one of the first forays into the study of bioelectricity, a field that still studies the electrical patterns and signals from tissues such as the nerves and muscles. Galvani's wife Lucia Galeazzi Galvani encouraged his independent research, and served as a counsellor, collaborator and guide for his experiments until her death.

a Spanish explorer, author, historian, astronomer, and scientist. His birthplace is not certain and may have been Pontevedra, in Galicia. In Lima he was accused by the Inquisition of possessing two magic rings and some magic ink and of following the precepts of Moses. In 1572 he was commissioned by Francisco de Toledo, the fifth Viceroy of Peru, to write a h...

a Spanish explorer, author, historian, astronomer, and scientist. His birthplace is not certain and may have been Pontevedra, in Galicia. In Lima he was accused by the Inquisition of possessing two magic rings and some magic ink and of following the precepts of Moses. In 1572 he was commissioned by Francisco de Toledo, the fifth Viceroy of Peru, to write a history of the Incas. Explored the Solomon Islands.

an English churchman and botanist, Dean of Winchester from 1840 to 1872. He was educated at Hyde Abbey School and Worcester College, Oxford. He was appointed Rector of Bishopstoke, Hampshire, in 1807. Whilst Dean, he was a founding member of the Hampshire Horticultural Society in 1818 (Dean Garnier's Garden in Winchester's cathedral close is named after him)...

an English churchman and botanist, Dean of Winchester from 1840 to 1872. He was educated at Hyde Abbey School and Worcester College, Oxford. He was appointed Rector of Bishopstoke, Hampshire, in 1807. Whilst Dean, he was a founding member of the Hampshire Horticultural Society in 1818 (Dean Garnier's Garden in Winchester's cathedral close is named after him) and, in the 1860s, an 'anti-muckabite' campaigner for a sewerage system for Winchester (with the road to the town's first sewerage pumping station later being named after him). He was a friend of Palmerston and a staunch whig.

a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the first data on the transit of Mercury in 1631. The lunar crater Gassendi i...

a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the first data on the transit of Mercury in 1631. The lunar crater Gassendi is named after him. He wrote numerous philosophical works, and some of the positions he worked out are considered significant, finding a way between skepticism and dogmatism.

a pharmaceutical chemist of the 17th century. He was born in Basel. He became demonstrator of chemistry, as successor of Lefebvre, at the Jardin du Roi in Paris, and apothecary to Louis XIV and to the Duke of Orléans. He is best known through his Traité de la chy...

a pharmaceutical chemist of the 17th century. He was born in Basel. He became demonstrator of chemistry, as successor of Lefebvre, at the Jardin du Roi in Paris, and apothecary to Louis XIV and to the Duke of Orléans. He is best known through his Traité de la chymie (Paris, 1663), which went through some ten editions in about twenty-five years, and was translated into both German and English.

a German naturalist, botanist and geographer. Gmelin was elected one out of three professors to join Vitus Bering’s Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733–43). During the early part of the expedition - leaving St Petersburg in August 1733 - he was accompanied by the young student Stepan Krasheninnikov. They travelled together through the Urals and western Sib...

a German naturalist, botanist and geographer. Gmelin was elected one out of three professors to join Vitus Bering’s Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733–43). During the early part of the expedition - leaving St Petersburg in August 1733 - he was accompanied by the young student Stepan Krasheninnikov. They travelled together through the Urals and western Siberia to Yeniseysk. He described the position of the Yenisey river as a boundary between Europe and Asia and participated in measuring the lowest temperature ever recorded at Yeniseysk. He was also the first person to measure the fact that the level of the Caspian Sea was below that of the Mediterranean Sea.

an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844. Though Goodyear is often credited with the invention of vulcanized rubber, modern evidence has proven that the Mesoamericans used stabilized rubber for balls and other obje...

an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844. Though Goodyear is often credited with the invention of vulcanized rubber, modern evidence has proven that the Mesoamericans used stabilized rubber for balls and other objects as early as 1600 BC., and Thomas Hancock had a patent pending for a vulcanization process 8 weeks before Goodyear. Goodyear's discovery of the vulcanization process was accidental, after five years of searching for a more stable rubber and stumbling upon the effectiveness of heating after Thomas Hancock.

a physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian. Dr. Gorrie's medical research involved the study of tropical diseases. At the time the theory that bad air caused diseases was a prevalent hypothesis and based on this theory, he urged draining the swamps and the cooling of sickrooms. Since it was necessary to transport ice by boat from the northern lakes, ...

a physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian. Dr. Gorrie's medical research involved the study of tropical diseases. At the time the theory that bad air caused diseases was a prevalent hypothesis and based on this theory, he urged draining the swamps and the cooling of sickrooms. Since it was necessary to transport ice by boat from the northern lakes, Gorrie experimented with making artificial ice. After 1845, he gave up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration projects. On May 6, 1851, Gorrie was granted Patent No. 8080 for a machine to make ice.

the first female apothecary in the Thirteen Colonies. She is considered to be the first female pharmacist in the United States. In 1727, Elizabeth moved to Boston to open an apothecary shop. Though this was a role which had been exclusively performed by men, Massachusetts did not have any laws in place to prevent women from practicing. This made her the only...

the first female apothecary in the Thirteen Colonies. She is considered to be the first female pharmacist in the United States. In 1727, Elizabeth moved to Boston to open an apothecary shop. Though this was a role which had been exclusively performed by men, Massachusetts did not have any laws in place to prevent women from practicing. This made her the only woman among the 32 apothecaries working in New England at the time. Later in 1727, her husband Daniel moved to Boston to join her after resigning his post as pastor of the Congregational Church in Yarmouth. They ran the shop together for several decades.

a botanist. Grigor was the author of the ‘Eastern Arboretum, or Register of Remarkable Trees, Seats, Gardens, &c., in the County of Norfolk,’ London 1840-41, with fifty etched plates, issued in fifteen numbers. In the preface (dated Norwich, 1 Sept. 1841) he states that he had devoted ‘twenty years to practical botanical pursuits,’ and his work was h...

a botanist. Grigor was the author of the ‘Eastern Arboretum, or Register of Remarkable Trees, Seats, Gardens, &c., in the County of Norfolk,’ London 1840-41, with fifty etched plates, issued in fifteen numbers. In the preface (dated Norwich, 1 Sept. 1841) he states that he had devoted ‘twenty years to practical botanical pursuits,’ and his work was highly praised by J. C. Loudon. He wrote a ‘Report on Trimingham and Runton Plantations in the county of Norfolk, belonging to Sir Edward North Buxton, Baronet,’ published in the ‘Transactions’ of the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, x. (new ser.) 557-74, for which he earned a gold medal.

a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His major scientific achievements were the establishment of the physics of vacuums, the discovery of an experimental method for clearly demonstrating electrostatic repulsion, and his advocacy of the reality of "action at a distance" and of "absolute space". All of von Guericke's work on the vacuum and air pressur...

a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His major scientific achievements were the establishment of the physics of vacuums, the discovery of an experimental method for clearly demonstrating electrostatic repulsion, and his advocacy of the reality of "action at a distance" and of "absolute space". All of von Guericke's work on the vacuum and air pressure is described in Book III of the Experimenta Nova (1672).

an English clergyman, mathematician, geometer and astronomer of Welsh descent. He is best remembered for his mathematical contributions which include the invention of the Gunter's chain, the Gunter's quadrant, and the Gunter's scale. In 1620, he invented the first successful analog device which he developed to calculate logarithmic tangents. He was mentored ...

an English clergyman, mathematician, geometer and astronomer of Welsh descent. He is best remembered for his mathematical contributions which include the invention of the Gunter's chain, the Gunter's quadrant, and the Gunter's scale. In 1620, he invented the first successful analog device which he developed to calculate logarithmic tangents. He was mentored in mathematics by Reverend Henry Briggs and eventually became a Gresham Professor of Astronomy, from 1619 until his death.

a surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder and prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor, of the Victorian era. Amongst many accomplishments, he developed the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and later applied its principles to a novel form of illumination, the Bude light; developed a series of early steam-powered road vehicles; and laid ...

a surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder and prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor, of the Victorian era. Amongst many accomplishments, he developed the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and later applied its principles to a novel form of illumination, the Bude light; developed a series of early steam-powered road vehicles; and laid claim—still discussed and disputed today—to the blastpipe, a key component in the success of steam locomotives, engines, and other coal-fired systems.

a Portuguese priest and naturalist, noted for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design. He completed his course of study at the University of Coimbra, devoting his attention principally to philology and mathematics, but received the title of Doctor of Canon Law (related to Theology). He is said to have had a remarkable memory and a great command of ...

a Portuguese priest and naturalist, noted for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design. He completed his course of study at the University of Coimbra, devoting his attention principally to philology and mathematics, but received the title of Doctor of Canon Law (related to Theology). He is said to have had a remarkable memory and a great command of languages. In 1709 he presented a petition to King João V of Portugal, seeking royal favour for his invention of an airship, in which he expressed the greatest confidence.