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Period: 276 BCE to 194 BCE
Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes was an ancient greek thinker, poet, and scientist. His greatest accomplishments were calculating the circumference of the earth. This, along with the earth being round proved to be a first step in the quest for greater scientific understanding and analysis of the earth. -
Period: 100 to 170
Ptolemy
Ptolemy, a greek scientist, astronomer, and philosopher, first proposed the idea of the earth being at the center of the universe. His proposal was immensely influential in the field of astronomy, providing the first provable model that explained the model of the universe. His model was adopted and widely accepted for at least 1,000 years until it was disproved by a polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. -
Period: Feb 19, 1473 to May 24, 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolas Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who is credited with changing the beliefs of people into convincing them into believing a model of the heliocentric universe. Copernicus was motivated with changing this by seeing the mathematical inaccuracies that Ptolemy's model possesed, as he observed that it failed to explain tidal motion and other phenomena. Copernicus then came up with a more mathematically sound model that solved many of the previous mathematical errors of Ptolemy's model. -
Period: Dec 14, 1546 to
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe was a Danish mathematician and astrologer who made extensive mathematical observations that allowed for Kepler and other astronomers to calculate and provide enough mathematical proof for the assertion of the heliocentric theory. This eventually contributed to the expansion and eventual dominance of science instead of religion. -
Period: Jan 22, 1561 to
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. His works are credited with developing the scientific method and remained influential through the scientific revolution. -
Period: Feb 15, 1564 to
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei was a famous italian astronomer who is credited with the invention of the telescope as well as sacrificing his life in the cause of advocating for the geocentric orbit. He also refined existing magnifying technologies to form a telescope, allowing him to make better observations. Upon doing so, he discovered the first of many moons that Jupiter had, leading him to question the old geocentric orbit theory, and advocating his support of Copernicus's heliocentric model instead. -
Period: Dec 27, 1571 to
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. He serves as one of the main figures in humanity's greater understanding of the solar system, the physical world, and advancing the scientific revolution. Kepler, along with the calculations made by Robert Brahe and Copernicus's theory established the crucial laws of planetary movements and the mathematical proof in favor of the heliocentric theory. -
Period: to
René Descartes
René Descartes was a french philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. After he had is traditional beliefs as a child upended and doubted, he became doubtful and thought to doubt everything in the world. This caused him to come up with the train of thought that he would only trust things that can be proved by logic and mathematics, essentially science. His beliefs would eventually be considered Cartesian skepticism, and became well known for saying "I think, therefore I am." -
Period: to
John Locke
A british philosopher, John Locke was also as much of a skeptic as Descartes was. However, instead of doubting completely every aspect of the world, John Locke chose to base his beliefs on his experiences and his sensory inputs. He is most known for spearheading the enlightenment as well as establishing Libertarianism. -
Period: to
Sir Issac Newton
Sir Issac Newton was a renowned british scientist who was famous for discovering the fundamental forces of gravity, as well as the physics behind orbits and light colors. Issac Newton is responsible for allowing the modern field of science to expand and flourish the way it is now. It was only after Issac Newton made the discovery of gravity, did scientists understand that the mutual attraction of both masses is what holds the planets in an orbit with the sun. -
Period: to
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev was a famous Russian chemist who discovered the properties of periodicity for elements. Having discovered this, Mendeleev was inspired by the card game solitaire to arrange the known elements to form a periodic table that famously left gaps in the table for the new elements that Mendeleev predicted to be there. After a while, with his predictions confirmed, Mendeleev's periodic table served a crucial tool for the expansion and usage for the field of chemistry in general. -
Period: to
Marie Curie
Marie Curie, along with Pierre Curie, is one of the primary pioneers in the field of chemistry, providing us a way to understand the field of radioactivity. She found elements such as polonium and radium, which were previously undiscovered elements. Marie Curie also helped to pioneer the research of radiation and health, as she is a primary indicator of the understanding of radiation's effect on humans. -
Period: to
Henrietta Leavitt
Henrietta Leavitt is famous for paving the way for many of the accomplishments that would help to grow our current understanding of the universe today. Leavitt also pioneered the way for woman scientists to follow in her footsteps, becoming scientists. Leavitt's primary work is the discovery that the brightness fluctuations of the Cepheid variable stars are actually impacted by their actual brightness, which allowed astronomers like Hubble to paint a more accurate model of the universe. -
Period: to
Alfred von Wegner
A german scientist, Wegner was most known for providing evidence from a large majority of fields that supported the idea that the plates moved and are still moving at a fast rate, geologically speaking. However, due to the fact that Wegener could not provide evidence for how the plates moved, his theory was loudly mocked and rejected by the geological society. It wasn't until Hess discovered tectonic spreading that the theory was accepted as fact. -
Period: to
Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble, an american astronomer, is responsible for the discovery of the fact that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate, as well as the creation of a universe classification system. Hubble used the properties of Cepheid variable stars that were discovered by Henrietta Leavitt in order to more fully understand and comprehend the scale of the universe. -
Period: to
Harry Hammond Hess
Harry Hammond Hess was a navy sailor and scientist who was interested in exploring theories of plate tectonics. While on an expedition in the Atlantic sea, Hess used to sonar to make accurate measurements that allowed him to observe the spreading of the seafloor. He then connected the seafloor to the movement of plates and provided an explanation to Wegener's theory. The formation of the pacific trench, as well as the observable magnetic pole shift served to convince geologists further.