Antoine Lavoisier, in full Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, (born August 26, 1743, Paris, France—died May 8, 1794, Paris), prominent French chemist and leading figure in the 18th-century chemical revolution who developed an experimentally based theory of the chemical reactivity of oxygen and coauthored the modern system for naming chemical substances. Having also served as a leading financier and public administrator before the French … Read more
Louis Pasteur, (born December 27, 1822, Dole, France—died September 28, 1895, Saint-Cloud), French chemist and microbiologist who was one of the most important founders of medical microbiology. Pasteur’s contributions to science, technology, and medicine are nearly without precedent. He pioneered the study of molecular asymmetry; discovered that microorganisms cause fermentation and disease; originated the process of pasteurization; saved the beer, wine, and silk industries in France; and developed vaccines against anthrax and rabies. Pasteur’s academic positions were numerous, … Read more
Hermann von Helmholtz, original name Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand Helmholtz, (born August 31, 1821, Potsdam, Prussia [Germany]—died September 8, 1894, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany), German scientist and philosopher who made fundamental contributions to physiology, optics, electrodynamics, mathematics, and meteorology. He is best known for his statement of the law of the conservation of energy. He brought to his laboratory researach the ability to analyze … Read more
Johannes Kepler, (born December 27, 1571, Weil der Stadt, Württemberg [Germany]—died November 15, 1630, Regensburg), German astronomer who discovered three major laws of planetary motion, conventionally designated as follows: (1) the planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus; (2) the time necessary to traverse any arc of a planetary orbit is proportional to the area of the sector between the central body and that arc (the … Read more
Thomas Edison, in full Thomas Alva Edison, (born February 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio, U.S.—died October 18, 1931, West Orange, New Jersey), American inventor who, singly or jointly, held a world-record 1,093 patents. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial research laboratory. Edison was the quintessential American inventor in the era of Yankee ingenuity. He began his career in 1863, in the adolescence of the telegraph industry, when … Read more
Michael Faraday, (born September 22, 1791, Newington, Surrey, England—died August 25, 1867, Hampton Court, Surrey), English physicist and chemist whose many experiments contributed greatly to the understanding of electromagnetism. Faraday, who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects of his art, … Read more
William Morris, an English designer, craftsman, poet, and early socialist (born March 24, 1834, in Walthamstow, near London, England—died October 3, 1896, in Hammersmith, near London), is credited with inspiring the Arts and Crafts movement in England and revolutionizing Victorian taste with his designs for furniture, fabrics, stained glass, wallpaper, and other decorative arts. Early … Read more