Technology

Vannevar Bush – Best Guide in 2023

by

Vannevar Bush, (born March 11, 1890, Everett, Mass., U.S.—died June 28, 1974, Belmont, Mass.), American electrical engineer and administrator who developed the Differential Analyzer and oversaw government mobilization of scientific research during World War II. Education The son of a Universalist minister, Bush received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from Tufts College (Medford, Massachusetts) in 1913. Following a sequence of teaching … Read more

Alexander Graham Bell – Best Guide in 2023

by

Alexander Graham Bell, (born March 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland—died August 2, 1922, Beinn Bhreagh, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada), Scottish-born American inventor, scientist, and teacher of the deaf whose foremost accomplishments were the invention of the telephone (1876) and the refinement of the phonograph (1886). Alexander (“Graham” was not added until he was 11) was born to Alexander Melville Bell and … Read more

Theodore von Kármán – Best Guide in 2023

by

Theodore von Kármán, (born May 11, 1881, Budapest, Hung.—died May 6, 1963, Aachen, W.Ger.), Hungarian-born American research engineer best known for his pioneering work in the use of mathematics and the basic sciences in aeronautics and astronautics. His laboratory at the California Institute of Technology later became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Early life Von Kármán was the third of … Read more

Alan Turing – Best Guide in 2023

by

Alan Turing, in full Alan Mathison Turing, (born June 23, 1912, London, England—died June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, Cheshire), British mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis, logic, philosophy, and mathematical biology and also to the new areas later named computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life. Early life and career The son of a civil servant, Turing was educated at a top … Read more

Carl Friedrich Gauss – Best Guide in 2023

by

Carl Friedrich Gauss, original name Johann Friedrich Carl Gauss, (born April 30, 1777, Brunswick [Germany]—died February 23, 1855, Göttingen, Hanover), German mathematician, generally regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time for his contributions to number theory, geometry, probability theory, geodesy, planetary astronomy, the theory of functions, and potential theory (including electromagnetism). Gauss was the only child of poor parents. He … Read more

William Herschel – Best Guide in 2023

by

William Herschel, in full Sir William Frederick Herschel, original name Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, (born November 15, 1738, Hannover, Hanover—died August 25, 1822, Slough, Buckinghamshire, England), German-born British astronomer, the founder of sidereal astronomy for the systematic observation of the stars and nebulae beyond the solar system. He discovered the planet Uranus, hypothesized that nebulae are composed of stars, and developed a theory of stellar evolution. He was knighted … Read more

William Thomson – Best Guide in 2023

by

William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, in full William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs, also called (1866–92) Sir William Thomson, (born June 26, 1824, Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland]—died December 17, 1907, Netherhall, near Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland), Scottish engineer, mathematician, and physicist who profoundly influenced the scientific thought of his generation. Thomson, who was knighted and raised to the peerage … Read more

Archimedes – Best Guide in 2023

by

Archimedes, (born c. 287 BCE, Syracuse, Sicily [Italy]—died 212/211 BCE, Syracuse), the most famous mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece. Archimedes is especially important for his discovery of the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder. He is known for his formulation of a hydrostatic principle (known as Archimedes’ principle) and a device for raising water, still used, known as … Read more

John von Neumann – Best Guide in 2023

by

John von Neumann, original name János Neumann, (born December 28, 1903, Budapest, Hungary—died February 8, 1957, Washington, D.C., U.S.), Hungarian-born American mathematician. As an adult, he appended von to his surname; the hereditary title had been granted his father in 1913. Von Neumann grew from child prodigy to one of the world’s foremost mathematicians by his mid-twenties. Important work in set theory inaugurated … Read more

Galileo – Best Guide in 2023

by

Galileo, in full Galileo Galilei, (born February 15, 1564, Pisa [Italy]—died January 8, 1642, Arcetri, near Florence), Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the sciences of motion, astronomy, and strength of materials and to the development of the scientific method. His formulation of (circular) inertia, the law of falling bodies, and parabolic trajectories marked the beginning of a fundamental change … Read more