Famous 19th Century American Scientists

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 1 
Albert Einstein
(One of the Greatest Physicists of All Time, Best Known for Developing the Theory of Relativity)
Albert Einstein
105
Birthdate: March 14, 1879
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Ulm, Germany
Died: April 18, 1955
Deemed as the most influential physicist of the 20th century, the German-born physicist Albert Einstein was one of the greatest minds to have ever lived. Even his name is now synonymous with the term genius. The father of Modern Physics is credited with developing the theory of relativity and explaining the photoelectric effect. The latter won him the Nobel Prize.
 2 
George Washington Carver
(American Agricultural Scientist and Inventor Who Promoted Alternative Crops to Cotton and Methods to Prevent Soil Depletion)
George Washington Carver
45
Birthdate: 1864
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Diamond, Missouri, United States
Died: January 5, 1943
Agricultural scientist George Washington Carver is best remembered for promoting crops that were alternative to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. He invented ways to prevent soil depletion and developed scores of products made from peanuts, including paints and cosmetics. He won numerous honors, such as the Spingarn Medal.
 3 
Edwin Powell Hubble
(American Astronomer Who is Regarded as the Leading Observational Cosmologist of the 20th Century)
Edwin Powell Hubble
7
Birthdate: November 20, 1889
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Marshfield, Missouri, United States
Died: September 28, 1953

While the Hubble Telescope, named after Edwin Powell Hubble, reminds one of his contribution to astronomy, he failed to get a Nobel Prize, as back in his time, the Nobel Committee didn’t recognize astrophysics as a valid science. He is best remembered for his work on galaxies and extragalactic astronomy.

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 4 
Nikola Tesla
(Inventor, Engineer & Futurist, Who Obtained Over 300 Patents)
Nikola Tesla
30
Birthdate: July 10, 1856
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Smiljan, Croatia
Died: January 7, 1943

Inventor, engineer and futurist, Nikola Tesla, is best remembered for his contribution to the development of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. A prolific inventor, he had around 300 patents for his inventions. Even though he earned a considerable amount of money, he had poor money management skills and died a poor man.

 5 
Alexander Graham Bell
(Inventor of Telephone & Co-Founder of 'American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T)')
Alexander Graham Bell
10
Birthdate: March 3, 1847
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: August 2, 1922

Alexander Graham Bell was a scientist, inventor, and engineer. He is credited with inventing the first functional telephone. He is also credited with co-founding America's major telephone company AT&T, which has been going strong since 1885. Bell's later life was marked by his groundbreaking work in aeronautics, hydrofoils, and optical telecommunications. He was also an ardent supporter of compulsory sterilization.

 6 
Thomas Hunt Morgan
(Geneticist)
Thomas Hunt Morgan
4
Birthdate: September 25, 1866
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lexington
Died: December 4, 1945

Thomas Hunt Morgan was an evolutionary biologist, geneticist, and embryologist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933. He worked extensively on the role that the chromosome plays in heredity and demonstrated that genes are carried on chromosomes. In his later career, he established the division of biology at the California Institute of Technology. 

 7 
Louis Agassiz
(Geologist)
Louis Agassiz
8
Birthdate: May 28, 1807
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Montier
Died: December 14, 1873

Louis Agassiz was a biologist and geologist. He was famous as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Born in Switzerland, he completed his education in Europe and emigrated to USA. He was appointed a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard University. He later founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology at the Lawrence Scientific School.  

 8 
Josiah Willard Gibbs
(Scientist)
Josiah Willard Gibbs
5
Birthdate: February 11, 1839
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Died: April 28, 1903

Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American scientist best remembered for making major theoretical contributions to mathematics, physics, and chemistry. As a mathematician, Gibbs is credited with inventing modern vector calculus. In 1901, he was honored with the prestigious Copley Medal for his contributions. Josiah Willard Gibbs's work had a major influence on physicists like J. D. van der Waals.

 9 
Karl Landsteiner
(Physician)
Karl Landsteiner
19
Birthdate: June 14, 1868
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vienna
Died: June 26, 1943

Karl Landsteiner was a physician, biologist, and immunologist. He is credited with distinguishing the main blood groups as well as identifying the Rhesus factor. He is also credited with discovering the polio virus along with Erwin Popper and Constantin Levaditi. He won the Aronson Prize in 1926. In 1930, Landsteiner was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

 10 
John Muir
(Naturalist)
John Muir
7
Birthdate: April 21, 1838
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dunbar
Died: December 24, 1914

John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, glaciologist, botanist, zoologist, and author. Nicknamed Father of the National Parks and John of the Mountains, Muir was an influential proponent of the preservation of wilderness in the US. He is credited with co-founding the American conservation organization, The Sierra Club. Muir is considered a hero by many environmentalists around the world.

 11 
Annie Jump Cannon
(Astronomer)
Annie Jump Cannon
4
Birthdate: December 11, 1863
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Dover
Died: April 13, 1941

After studying physics and astronomy at Wellesley College, Annie Jump Cannon traveled across Europe and focused on photography for a decade, before venturing to study astronomy again. At the Harvard Observatory, she made a considerable contribution to the classification of stellar bodies. She was almost deaf due to scarlet fever.

 12 
John Harvey Kellogg
(Physician, Nutritionist and Director of the ‘Battle Creek Sanitarium’)
John Harvey Kellogg
5
Birthdate: February 26, 1852
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Tyrone Township, Michigan, United States
Died: December 14, 1943
Physician, nutritionist, and businessman John Harvey Kellogg served as the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, which was a combination of a European spa, a hydrotherapy center, a hospital, and a hotel. He believed in biologic living. However, he is best remembered as the inventor of corn flakes.
 13 
Arthur Compton
(Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics)
Arthur Compton
4
Birthdate: September 10, 1892
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Wooster, Ohio, USA
Died: March 15, 1962

American physicist Arthur Compton is best-known for introducing Compton wavelength, discovering Compton scattering, first identifying the Compton–Getting effect in the intensity of cosmic rays along with Ivan A. Getting, and for the Compton generator. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for discovering Compton effect. He also remained a prominent figure during the Manhattan Project.

 14 
Lewis Howard Latimer
4
Birthdate: September 4, 1848
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States
Died: December 11, 1928
Lewis Howard Latimer was born to former slaves and went on to become a skilled patent draftsman. He had worked with Alexander Graham Bell on the patent of his telephone, and with the Edison Electric Light Company. He had also invented a modification of the process of making carbon filaments. 
 15 
Robert H. Goddard
4
Birthdate: October 5, 1882
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Died: August 10, 1945

The son of a machine shop owner, Robert H. Goddard grew up to become a pioneer of rocketry. Interested in physics and mechanics since childhood, he dreamed of space flight. He developed the world’s first rocket that ran on liquid fuel. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is named after him.

 16 
Nettie Stevens
(American Geneticist Known for Her Discovery of 'X and Y Sex Determining Chromosomes')
Nettie Stevens
6
Birthdate: July 7, 1861
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cavendish, Vermont, United States
Died: May 4, 1912

Nettie Stevens was an American geneticist. She is credited with discovering sex chromosomes which later came to be known as the X and Y chromosomes. In 1994, Nettie Stevens was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 17 
Charles Sanders Peirce
(American Philosopher, Mathematician, Logician, and Scientist)
Charles Sanders Peirce
8
Birthdate: September 10, 1839
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Died: April 19, 1914

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American philosopher, mathematician, logician, and scientist. He is best remembered for his immense contributions to logic. Philosopher Paul Weiss called him America's greatest logician. Charles Sanders Peirce is also regarded by some as the father of pragmatism.

 18 
Oswald Avery
(Biologist, Physician, Geneticist)
Oswald Avery
4
Birthdate: October 21, 1877
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada
Died: February 20, 1955

A pioneer of molecular biology, Oswald Avery revolutionized science with his research on the chemical processes involved in immunology. The Canadian-American bacteriologist initially aspired to be a musician. He later proved that DNA was the basis of heredity. Though nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times, he never won it.

 19 
Alfred North Whitehead
(Mathematician, Philosopher)
Alfred North Whitehead
9
Birthdate: February 15, 1861
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ramsgate, Kent, England
Died: December 30, 1947

Alfred North Whitehead was a British mathematician and philosopher, best known for his collaboration with his student Bertrand Russell on Principal of Mathematics, a three-volume work on the foundations of mathematics. Also known for his pioneering works on process philosophy and metaphysics, he is credited with developing a comprehensive metaphysical system that differs from most Western philosophies.

 20 
C. W. Post
(Nutritionist)
C. W. Post
6
Birthdate: October 26, 1854
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Springfield, Illinois, United States
Died: May 9, 1914
 21 
Norbert Wiener
(Father of Cybernetics)
Norbert Wiener
6
Birthdate: November 26, 1894
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Columbia, Missouri, United States
Died: March 18, 1964
 22 
Charles Goodyear
(Inventor of Vulcanized Rubber)
Charles Goodyear
4
Birthdate: December 29, 1800
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Died: July 1, 1860

Charles Goodyear was an American manufacturing engineer and self-taught chemist who developed vulcanized rubber. He invented the chemical process to manufacture pliable, moldable, and waterproof rubber which revolutionized the automobile industry. In 1976, Charles Goodyear was inducted posthumously into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

 23 
Leó Szilárd
(Physicist)
Leó Szilárd
6
Birthdate: February 11, 1898
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Budapest
Died: May 30, 1964

Physicist Leó Szilárd, one of the "Martians," or eminent scientists who had migrated from Hungary to the U.S., was the first to initiate a controlled nuclear chain reaction and was closely associated with the Manhattan Project, meant to develop the atomic bomb. He later advocated for responsible use of nuclear powers.

 24 
Aldo Leopold
(American Author & Environmentalist Who is Best Known for His Book 'A Sand County Almanac')
Aldo Leopold
5
Birthdate: January 11, 1887
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Burlington
Died: April 21, 1948
 25 
Robert Andrews Millikan
4
Birthdate: March 22, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Morrison
Died: December 19, 1953

Nobel Prize-winning experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan had begun his career as a faculty member at the University of Chicago and penned countless physics books. He later devoted himself to his research on elementary electronic charge and the photoelectric effect. His famous oil-drop experiment is known to all physics enthusiasts.

 26 
Auguste Piccard
(Chemist)
Auguste Piccard
6
Birthdate: January 28, 1884
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Died: January 28, 1963

Swiss-born Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard is best remembered for his research on the Earth’s upper stratosphere. He designed his own ships to explore the depth of the seas and also built balloons to study cosmic rays. His bathyscaphe remains one of his best-known inventions. He also co-discovered the magnetocaloric effect.

 27 
Peter Debye
(Dutch-American Physical Chemist and Physicist Who Won the 1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
Peter Debye
3
Birthdate: March 24, 1884
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Maastricht
Died: November 2, 1966

Peter Debye was a Dutch-American physical chemist and physicist. He is best remembered for winning the 1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was also the recipient of the Rumford Medal, Franklin Medal, and Priestley Medal. In 1965, Peter Debye was honored with the National Medal of Science. In 1982, he was inducted into the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame.

 28 
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
4
Birthdate: July 4, 1868
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lancaster, Massachusetts
Died: December 12, 1921

Born to a church minister, Henrietta Swan Leavitt grew up to work as a “human computer” at the Harvard Observatory. The American astronomer gained fame for discovering the period-luminosity relation of Cepheid variables. However, her brilliant scientific career was halted by her death due to stomach cancer at 53.

 29 
Leo Baekeland
(Chemist & Inventor)
Leo Baekeland
3
Birthdate: November 14, 1863
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium
Died: February 23, 1944

Industrial chemist Leo Baekeland is remembered as The Father of the Plastics Industry for creating Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic of the world, thus marking the beginning of the Polymer Age. His many inventions include Velox, a special photographic paper, the rights of which he sold to George Eastman.

 30 
John Wesley Powell
(Explorer, Geologist)
John Wesley Powell
5
Birthdate: March 24, 1834
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Mount Morris
Died: September 23, 1902

John Wesley Powell was a geologist and explorer of the American West. He undertook a series of adventures as a young man and later joined the military. He is best known for the three-month-long geographic expedition he undertook down the Green and Colorado rivers. He was made the director of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1881.  

 31 
Percival Lowell
(Astronomer, Mathematician)
Percival Lowell
5
Birthdate: March 13, 1855
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Boston
Died: November 12, 1916

Born into the famous Brahmin Lowell family of Massachusetts, Percival Lowell studied at Harvard, where he excelled in math. He managed a cotton mill and also spent time in Asia as a diplomat. He is best remembered for initiating the discovery of Pluto and for studying the canals on Mars.

 32 
Williamina Fleming
(Scottish Astronomer Famous for Her Discovery of the 'Horsehead Nebula')
Williamina Fleming
3
Birthdate: May 15, 1857
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland
Died: May 21, 1911

Born in Scotland, Williamina Fleming moved to the U.S. with her husband, where she began working as a housekeeper for Harvard Observatory director Edward C. Pickering. Pickering secured her a job at the observatory, and Fleming went on to establish a classification and cataloguing system for stars.

 33 
Albert A. Michelson
4
Birthdate: December 19, 1852
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Strzelno, Poland
Died: May 9, 1931
 34 
Matthew Fontaine Maury
(American Astronomer, Oceanographer, Meteorologist, Geologist and Naval Officer)
Matthew Fontaine Maury
5
Birthdate: January 14, 1806
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Spotsylvania County, Virginia, United States
Died: February 1, 1873

American astronomer, naval officer, oceanographer and author Matthew Fontaine Maury, who first served the United States Navy and then the Confederacy States Navy, made significant contributions in oceanography. His book Physical Geography of the Sea is counted among the first comprehensive books on oceanography. Navies and merchant marines across the world adopted his uniform system of recording oceanographic data.

 35 
Irving Langmuir
5
Birthdate: January 31, 1881
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: August 16, 1957

Irving Langmuir was an American physicist, chemist, and engineer. He is credited with popularizing the concentric theory of atomic structure. Irving Langmuir is also credited with inventing the hydrogen welding technique and the gas-filled incandescent lamp. In 1932, Langmuir won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to surface chemistry. He also won other prestigious awards like Faraday Medal.

 36 
Charles Proteus Steinmetz
(German Mathematician and Engineer Whose Research on AC Systems Revolutionized the US Electric Industry)
Charles Proteus Steinmetz
3
Birthdate: April 9, 1865
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Wrocław
Died: October 26, 1923

Though German-born American mathematician and engineer Charles Proteus Steinmetz suffered from a deformed back since childhood, he excelled in math, physics, and classical literature. His ideas on alternating current (AC) systems initiated the electrical era in the US. By the time he died, he had over 200 patents under his name.

 37 
Gilbert N. Lewis
(American Physical Chemist Best Known for His Discovery of the Covalent Bond)
Gilbert N. Lewis
3
Birthdate: October 23, 1875
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States
Died: March 23, 1946

Gilbert N. Lewis was an American physical chemist best remembered for his detection of the covalent bond. He made immense contributions to photochemistry, chemical thermodynamics, and isotope separation. Gilbert N. Lewis received 41 nominations for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but never won the award. However, he influenced and mentored numerous Nobel laureates, including Harold Urey and William F. Giauque.

 38 
Gerty Cori
(Biochemist)
Gerty Cori
3
Birthdate: August 15, 1896
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Prague, Czechia
Died: October 26, 1957

Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist Gerty Cori is best-known for discovering the course of catalytic conversion of glycogen with her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori for which they jointly won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. With this Gerty became the third woman to win a Nobel in science and the first to win it in this category.

 39 
Joseph Henry
(Scientist)
Joseph Henry
5
Birthdate: December 17, 1797
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Albany, New York, United States
Died: May 13, 1878
 40 
Albert Szent-Györgyi
(Physiologist)
Albert Szent-Györgyi
3
Birthdate: September 16, 1893
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died: October 22, 1986

Born in Budapest, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi shot himself in the arm while serving in World War II, so that he could be sent back home, and then studied medicine. While he is remembered for first isolating vitamin C, unknown to many, he was also a skilled pianist.

 41 
Thomas J. Watson
(Entrepreneur)
Thomas J. Watson
4
Birthdate: February 17, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Campbell, New York, United States
Died: June 19, 1956
 42 
Maria Mitchell
(Astronomer)
Maria Mitchell
3
Birthdate: August 1, 1818
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nantucket
Died: June 28, 1889
Maria Mitchell was motivated by her amateur astronomer father to venture into astronomy, and he taught her to operate several astronomical instruments. She later grew up to be America’s first professional female astronomer and is best remembered for discovering the comet 1847 VI, also known as Miss Mitchell's Comet.
 43 
Luther Burbank
(Horticulturist, Geneticist, Botanist, Gardener, Academic, Non-fiction writer)
Luther Burbank
6
Birthdate: March 7, 1849
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Santa Rosa
Died: April 11, 1926

Luther Burbank was an American horticulturist and botanist. A pioneer in agricultural science, Luther Burbank developed over 800 varieties of plants and strains in an illustrious career that spanned 55 years. He is also credited with developing a spineless cactus that served as cattle feed. In 1986, Luther Burbank was made an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

 44 
Isidor Isaac Rabi
3
Birthdate: July 29, 1898
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Rymanów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (today Poland)
Died: January 11, 1988
 45 
Edward Drinker Cope
(American Zoologist and Paleontologist)
Edward Drinker Cope
3
Birthdate: July 28, 1840
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: April 12, 1897
 46 
Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin
(Serbian Physicist Who Had Numerous Patents to His Name)
Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin
3
Birthdate: October 9, 1858
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Serbia
Died: March 12, 1935

Physicist Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin developed what is now known as pupinization, a mechanism which extended the range of long-distance telephonic communication with the use of loading coils. Born to illiterate parents, he was a Serbian immigrant in the U.S. and later wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, From Immigrant to Inventor.

 47 
David Herold
(Accomplice of John Wilkes Booth, the Man Who Killed Abraham Lincoln)
David Herold
4
Birthdate: June 16, 1842
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Maryland, United States
Died: July 7, 1865

David Herold was an American pharmacist's assistant. He is best remembered as the accomplice of John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln in 1865. David Herold was arrested and sentenced to death. He was hanged alongside three other conspirators on 7 July 1865 at the age of 23.   

 48 
George Ellery Hale
(American Astronomer and Journalist)
George Ellery Hale
2
Birthdate: June 29, 1868
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: February 21, 1938

George Ellery Hale was an American solar astronomer. He discovered magnetic fields in sunspots, a discovery that gained him international fame. He played key roles in the planning or construction of several world-leading telescopes, including the 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory. He was a major figure in the foundation of the International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research. 

 

 49 
Herbert Henry Dow
(American Chemical Industrialist and Founder of the Multinational Conglomerate 'Dow Chemical')
Herbert Henry Dow
3
Birthdate: February 26, 1866
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Belleville, Canada
Died: October 15, 1930

Herbert Henry Dow taught chemistry before venturing into a business career. Though his first company was a failure, his work impressed investors, and he was soon able to establish Dow Chemical, which supplied low-cost bromine to the US markets. He later made auto pistons out of spare magnesium.

 50 
Charles Pfizer
(Chemist, Entrepreneur)
Charles Pfizer
5
Birthdate: March 22, 1824
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ludwigsburg, Germany
Died: October 19, 1906