Eminent scientists
Where would humanity be today if not for the numerous valuable
discoveries made by the great scientists of the world from time to time?
No one can dispute the fact that scientists have made an enormous
contribution to the advancement of human civilization.
When we take a peek at the history of the world, we can see how many
scientists of yesteryear dedicated their lives for research and
innovation. Some of them even faced the threat of torture for their
theories but still they did not give up on their mission. Thanks to
their valiant efforts we are now in a modern world.
In this series we journey back in time to familiarise you with some
of these great personalities who have made a vast difference in our
lives ...
 [Albert
Einstein]
Einstein is the greatert physicist of the twentieth century and
notable scientist of all time.Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in the
Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire on March 14, 1879.His father
was Hermann Einstein, a salesman and engineer. His mother was Pauline
Einstein (née Koch). In 1880, the family moved to Munich, where his
father and his uncle founded a company that manufactured electrical
equipment based on direct current.
He attended a Catholic elementary school from the age of five for
three years. Later, at the age of eight, Einstein was transferred to the
Luitpold Gymnasium where he received advanced primary and secondary
school education until he left Germany seven years later. It is said
that he had learning disability in his childhood. He could not talk till
he was three and could not read till he was eight.
Despite such problems he later became the noble prize winner for his
contribution to the Physics. His theory of relativity is considered as a
revolutionary development of Physics.
He got Noble Prize in Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the
Photoelectric Effect and for his research in Theoretical
physics.Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers along with
over 150 non-scientific works. His great intellectual achievements and
originality have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with genius.
In 1922, he travelled throughout Asia and later to Palestine, as part
of a six-month excursion and speaking tour. His travels included
Singapore, Ceylon, and Japan, where he gave a series of lectures to
thousands of Japanese. His first lecture in Tokyo lasted four hours,
after which he met the emperor and empress at the Imperial Palace where
thousands came to watch.
Einstein became an American citizen in 1940. Throughout his life,
Einstein published hundreds of books and articles. In addition to the
work he did by himself he also collaborated with other scientists on
additional projects including the Bose-Einstein statistics, the Einstein
refrigerator and others.
On 17 April 1955, Albert Einstein experienced internal bleeding
caused by the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.Einstein refused
surgery, saying: "I want to go when I want.
It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share,
it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."
He died in Princeton Hospital early the next morning at the age of
76, having continued to work until near the end.During the autopsy, the
pathologist of Princeton Hospital, Thomas Stoltz Harvey, removed
Einstein's brain for preservation without the permission of his family,
in the hope that the neuroscience of the future would be able to
discover what made Einstein so intelligent.
 [Thomas
Edison]
Thomas Edison is the great inventor who has over 1000 patents and his
inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early
life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read
till he was twelve. He was able to turn the attention of the world after
inventing the phonograph. One of his most popular inventions is the
electric bulb.
He also developed the telegraph system. His invention of carbon
telephone transmitter developed the carbon microphone which was used in
the telephone till 1980. He also became a prominent businessman and his
business institution produced his inventions and marketed the products
to the general people.
 [Charles
Robert Darwin]
It is debatable whether Charles Darwin ( 12 February 1809 - 19 April
1882 ) is the greatest scientist of all time but there is no doubt that
he is the most controversial scientist of all time. On the Origin of
Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)- is the book that has made
Darwin immortal in the world history. This book has changed the course
of science radically. It is perhaps an irony that Darwin studied
theology and instead of becoming a clergy, became a naturalist.
Darwin went to different parts of the world and carried out extensive
research. His theory about origin of human beings caused widespread
controversy. Darwin stated that human beings have evolved through many
changes and survival of the fittest was in important factor in the
development of animal world. Darwin 's theory still causes passionate
debate among his supporters and opponents.
 [Sir
Isaac Newton]
A physicist, mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, and natural
philosopher Isaac Newton was definitely a man of versatile quality . He
was born to a farmer family on December 25, 1642 [January 4, 1643, New
Style], in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England but before three months of
his birth his father died and then he was brought up by his maternal
grandmother as his mother remarried. He was later reunited with his
mother ,who eventually pulled him out of school with the intention of
making him a farmer. This was not something young Isaac liked and he
failed at it.
He soon returned to King's School to finish his basic education.
Perhaps sensing his innate intellectual abilities, his uncle, a graduate
of Trinity College at Cambridge persuaded his mother to have him enter
the university. Isaac enrolled in 1661 in a programme similar to a work
study where he waited on tables and took care of wealthier students'
rooms.
His talent was obvious even from his early life in The King's School
in Grantham and later he joined to the Cambridge University where he
took his higher degrees. When Isaac Newton arrived at Cambridge, the
scientific revolution was already in full force. The heliocentric view
of the universe-theorised by astronomers Nicholas Copernicus and
Johannes Kepler and later refined by Galileo Galilei -was well known in
most European academic circles.
His contribution to the development of science is invaluable. He is
best known for his explanation of Universal Gravitation and three laws
of motion, and he was able to prove that the reason of both the motion
of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are controlled by the same
neutral laws. These findings could make a revolutionary change in the
development of science. In mechanical science his great contribution was
in optics. He could make a reflecting telescope. He also made some
research on light and stars. His research on General binomial Theorem
helped to be introduced today's Calculus. During his first three years
at Cambridge, Isaac Newton was taught the standard curriculum but he was
fascinated with the more advanced science. All his spare time was spent
reading from the modern philosophers. A giant in the field of science
this English physicist and mathematician, who was the culminating,
figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century died March 20
[March 31], 1727, London, England.
 [Aristotle]
The great philosopher Aristotle is someone we cannot overlook when it
comes to great scientists even though he belongs to a different era and
is not technically a scientist by today's definitions.This laurel Greek
philosopher was born in Stagira , a small town on the northern coast of
Greece that was once a seaport in 384 BC. He had a vast knowledge of
different disciplines. Having studied different subjects he contributed
a lot in each of those subjects such as physics, poetry, zoology, logic,
rhetoric, politics, government, ethics and biology.
One of Aristotle's earliest tutors was none other than his father
Nicomachus who was a physician to the king Amyntas III of Macedon's
court.
The medical knowledge he got from his father led him to investigate
natural phenomenon later on. Little is known about his mother, Phaestis
who is believed to have died when Aristotle was young.
When Aristotle turned 17, he was sent to Athens to pursue higher
education. At the time, Athens was considered the academic centre of the
world. In Athens, Aristotle enrolled in Plato's Academy, Greek's premier
learning institution, and proved an exemplary scholar. Plato was another
great Greek philosopher.
After Plato died, Aristotle's friend Hermias, king of Atarneus and
Assos in Mysia, invited Aristotle to court. During his three-year stay
in Mysia, Aristotle met and married his first wife, Pythias, Hermias'
niece.
Together, the couple had a daughter, Pythias, named after her
mother.In 338 B.C., Aristotle went home to Macedonia to start tutoring
King Phillip II's son, the then 13-year-old Alexander the Great. Phillip
and Alexander both held Aristotle in high esteem and ensured that the
Macedonia court generously compensated him for his work. In 335 B.C.,
after Alexander had succeeded his father as king and conquered Athens,
Aristotle went back to the city. In Athens, Plato's Academy, now run by
Xenocrates, was still the leading influence on Greek thought.
With Alexander's permission, Aristotle started his own school in
Athens, called the Lyceum. In the same year that Aristotle opened the
Lyceum, his wife Pythias died. On and off, Aristotle spent most of the
remainder of his life working as a teacher, researcher and writer at the
Lyceum in Athens. Science was among the subjects that he researched at
length during his time at the Lyceum.
Aristotle was in the habit of walking around the school grounds while
teaching, and his students, who were forced to follow him, were
nicknamed the "Peripatetics," meaning "people who travel about."
Lyceum members researched subjects ranging from science and maths to
philosophy and politics, and nearly everything in between. Art was also
a popular area of interest. Members of the Lyceum wrote up their
findings in manuscripts. In so doing, they built the school's massive
collection of written materials, which by ancient accounts was credited
as one of the first great libraries.
As a scientist Aristotle made a good contribution which was very
influential for the development of the science over the years. Mainly he
spent most of his life researching the natural science and he did the
researches without making reference to the Mathematics which was later
proven as the weakness of his research by the scientists. His natural
science oriented research includes botany, zoology, physics, astronomy,
chemistry, and meteorology, geometry and many more.
Aristotle believed that knowledge could be obtained through
interacting with physical objects.Aristotle's research in the sciences
included a study of geology. He attempted, with some error, to classify
animals into genera based on their similar characteristics. He further
classified animals into species based on those that had red blood and
those that did not. The animals with red blood were mostly vertebrates,
while the "bloodless" animals were labelled cephalopods. Despite the
relative inaccuracy of his hypothesis, Aristotle's classification was
regarded as the standard system for hundreds of years.Marine biology was
also an area of fascination for Aristotle.
In contrast to his geological classifications, his observations of
marine life, as expressed in his books, are considerably more
accurate.As evidenced in his treatise Meteorology, Aristotle also
dabbled in the earth sciences. In Meteorology, Aristotle identified the
water cycle and discussed topics ranging from natural disasters to
astrological events. Although many of his views on the Earth were
controversial at the time, they were re-adopted and popularised during
the late Middle Ages. One of the main focuses of Aristotle's philosophy
was his systematic concept of logic.After he left Athens and fled to
Chalcis on the island of Euboea, this great philosopher died in 322 BC .
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