Aquarius Scientists

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 1 
Galileo Galilei
(Known as “Father” of Observational Astronomy who Invented the ‘Thermoscope’ and Various Military Compasses)
Galileo Galilei
177
Birthdate: February 15, 1564
Birthplace: Pisa, Italy
Died: January 8, 1642

An Italian astronomer, engineer, and physicist, Galileo Galilei is widely regarded as the father of observational astronomy, the father of the scientific method, the father of modern physics, and the father of modern science. He is credited with popularizing the telescope, which changed the course of history.

 2 
Dmitri Mendeleev
(Inventor of Periodic Table)
Dmitri Mendeleev
12
Birthdate: February 8, 1834
Birthplace: Tobolsk
Died: February 2, 1907
Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev created the Periodic Law and his version of the Periodic Table of Elements that revolutionized the field of chemistry. His table was independent of German chemist Julius Lothar Meyer’s version of the table. Mendeleev also assisted in the development of the first oil refinery in Russia.
 3 
Count Alessandro Volta
(Physicist, Chemist)
Count Alessandro Volta
8
Birthdate: February 18, 1745
Birthplace: Como, Duchy of Milan, Italy
Died: March 5, 1827
While Alessandro Volta was a count by birth and was supposed to become a lawyer or a priest, he became a scientist instead. His invention of the battery led to the SI unit of electric potential being named volt. He was also the first to isolate methane gas.
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 4 
David Hilbert
(Mathematician)
David Hilbert
14
Birthdate: January 23, 1862
Birthplace: Königsberg or Wehlau, Province of Prussia (today Znamensk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia)
Died: February 14, 1943

German mathematician David Hilbert was first drawn to math inspired by his mother, who was a budding math enthusiast. He contributed to a host of concepts, theories, and postulates, such as Hilbert space, Hilbert's program, and Hilbert's problems. He died in oblivion, with a handful of people at his funeral.

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 5 
Robert Boyle
(Founder of Modern Chemistry, Boyle's Law)
Robert Boyle
9
Birthdate: January 25, 1627
Birthplace: Ireland
Died: December 30, 1691

Robert Boyle was an Anglo-Irish chemist, natural philosopher, inventor, and physicist. Regarded as the first modern chemist, Boyle is often counted among the founders of modern chemistry. One of the pioneers of the scientific method, Robert Boyle is also remembered for his books, including The Sceptical Chymist, which is viewed as a keystone book in chemistry.

 6 
G. H. Hardy
(English Mathematician Known for His Contributions in Number Theory and Mathematical Analysis)
G. H. Hardy
16
Birthdate: February 7, 1877
Birthplace: Cranleigh, England
Died: December 1, 1947

English mathematician G. H. Hardy is best recognised for his work and achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis, and also as mentor of distinguished Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. He is noted for his essay on mathematics titled A Mathematician's Apology. He also made his mark in biology formulating a basic principle of population genetics called Hardy–Weinberg principle.  

 7 
John Napier
(Inventor of Logarithms)
John Napier
8
Birthdate: February 1, 1550
Birthplace: Merchiston Tower, Edinburgh
Died: April 4, 1617

John Napier was a Scottish mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He is credited with introducing logarithms as a means of simplifying calculations. He also invented Napier's bones, a manually-operated calculating device. In addition to his interest in mathematics, John Napier was also known for his skills as a magician; it is said that he dabbled in necromancy and alchemy.

 8 
Joseph Louis Lagrange
(Mathematician)
Joseph Louis Lagrange
10
Birthdate: January 25, 1736
Birthplace: Turin, Italy
Died: April 10, 1813

Joseph Louis Lagrange was an Italian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of number theory, analysis, and both classical and celestial mechanics. He served as the director of mathematics at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin for over 20 years. He later moved to France and became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. 

 9 
Ken Thompson
(Computer Scientist)
Ken Thompson
17
Birthdate: February 4, 1943
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Height: 6'8" (203 cm)
 10 
Charles Darwin
(Naturalist known for His Contributions to Evolutionary Biology)
Charles Darwin
31
Birthdate: February 12, 1809
Birthplace: The Mount House, Shrewsbury, England
Died: April 19, 1882

Widely regarded as one of the most influential personalities in the history of mankind, Charles Darwin was an English biologist, naturalist, and geologist. He is credited with publishing the Theory of Evolution, which explains the evolution of life from a unicellular organism to human beings. A prolific writer, Charles Darwin also wrote important books on plants and barnacles.

 11 
Clyde Tombaugh
(Astronomer, University teacher)
Clyde Tombaugh
7
Birthdate: February 4, 1906
Birthplace: Streator
Died: January 17, 1997

Though he wasn’t formally educated in astronomy, Clyde Tombaugh was immensely interested in the subject since childhood and had built his own telescope after high school. He grew up to discover Pluto, then regarded as the ninth planet but later declared a "dwarf planet," and many other celestial bodies.

 12 
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
4
Birthdate: February 18, 1201
Birthplace: Tous, Iran
Died: June 26, 1274

Persian polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi lost his jurist father in childhood and then went around as a scholar, learning subjects such as math and philosophy. He made invaluable contribution to astronomy and later served as a scientific advisor of the Mongols. One of his notable written works was Akhlaq-i Nasiri.

 13 
Tasuku Honjo
(Nobel Prize-Winning Japanese Immunologist Who Is Known for His Research on Cancer Immunotherapy)
Tasuku Honjo
18
Birthdate: January 27, 1942
Birthplace: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Nobel Prize-winning Japanese immunologist Tasuku Honjo is known identifying the programmed cell death protein 1 and for revolutionizing cancer immunotherapy. Initially part of the University of Tokyo's faculty of medicine, he later taught genetics, immunology, and medical chemistry at several institutes. He was a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

 14 
Josiah Willard Gibbs
(Scientist)
Josiah Willard Gibbs
5
Birthdate: February 11, 1839
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.

 15 
Michio Kaku
(Theoretical Physicist and Author of the Best-Selling Books ‘Physics of the Impossible’ and ‘Physics of the Future')
Michio Kaku
21
Birthdate: January 24, 1947
Birthplace: San Jose, California, United States

Apart from teaching at the City College of New York, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku also often pens his thoughts in blogs and has written several bestselling books, such as The God Equation. His research is focused on the string theory. He also believes in the existence of aliens.

 16 
Guido van Rossum
(Dutch Programmer Known for Creating the 'Python' Programming Language)
Guido van Rossum
10
Birthdate: January 31, 1956
Birthplace: Haarlem, Netherlands
Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum is known as the inventor of the Python programming language. He has also worked with Google and Dropbox earlier. In November 2020, he announced he announced his decision to join the Developer Division of Microsoft. He has won several honors, such as the NLUUG Award.
 17 
Leslie Lamport
(Mathematician, Computer scientist, Programmer, Engineer, Writer)
Leslie Lamport
7
Birthdate: February 7, 1941
Birthplace: New York City
 18 
William Shockley
(American Physicist, Inventor and Winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics)
William Shockley
6
Birthdate: February 13, 1910
Birthplace: London, England
Died: August 12, 1989

American physicist, inventor and Nobel laureate William Bradford Shockley Jr received the Nobel Prize in Physics with John Bardeen and Walter Brattain in 1956 for their researches on semiconductors and for discovering the transistor effect while working at the Bell Labs. He later became a proponent of eugenics while serving as a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University.

 19 
Walter Lewin
(Astronomer, University teacher, Astrophysicist, Physicist)
Walter Lewin
13
Birthdate: January 29, 1936
Birthplace: The Hague
 20 
Lev Landau
(Russian Physicist and One for the Founders of Quantum Mechanical Theory)
Lev Landau
4
Birthdate: January 22, 1908
Birthplace: Baku, Azerbaijan
Died: April 1, 1968

Nobel Prize-winning Russian physicist Lev Landau is remembered for his pathbreaking research in quantum mechanics. A math prodigy, he had learned calculus at 13. He failed to receive his Nobel in person due to a near-fatal car crash which caused him injuries that eventually caused his death 6 years later.

 21 
Fritz Zwicky
(Swiss Astronomer Known For His Inference and Existence of Unseen 'Dark Matter' using Virial Theorem)
Fritz Zwicky
4
Birthdate: February 14, 1898
Birthplace: Varna, Bulgaria
Died: February 8, 1974

Born to a businessman and diplomat father in Bulgaria, Fritz Zwicky was initially sent to Switzerland to study commerce but ended up deviating to math and physics. He then moved to the U.S. to work with Caltech and gained fame for his research on what he called the supernova.

 22 
Jim Cantore
(American Meteorologist Best Known as an On-Air Personality for 'The Weather Channel')
Jim Cantore
8
Birthdate: February 16, 1964
Birthplace: Beacon Falls, Connecticut, United States
Best known for his long stint on The Weather Channel, meteorologist Jim Cantore has gained fame for making his weather reports interesting to even a lay person. He has hosted weather segments for the 2012 Summer Olympics and is also known for his authentic storm reports, which have often become viral.
 23 
Ernst Haeckel
(Zoologist & Evolutionist Who Was a Strong Proponent of 'Darwinism')
Ernst Haeckel
4
Birthdate: February 16, 1834
Birthplace: Potsdam, Germany
Died: August 9, 1919

Ernst Haeckel had initially practiced medicine before he gained an interest in Charles Darwin’s theory and began exploring zoology and related fields. He not only coined terms such as ecology, but also named numerous species and created a genealogical tree. He drew numerous figures of animals and sea creatures, too.

 24 
Giordano Bruno
(Philosopher & Mathematician Known For His Cosmological Theories)
Giordano Bruno
4
Birthdate: 1548
Birthplace: Nola, Italy
Died: February 17, 1600

Giordano Bruno was an Italian philosopher, friar, mathematician, cosmological theorist, poet, and Hermetic occultist. Best remembered for his cosmological theories, Bruno insisted that the universe could have no center as it is infinite. In 2004, Herbert Steffen founded the Giordano Bruno Foundation in Bruno's honor.

 25 
Niklaus Wirth
(Swiss Computer Scientist)
Niklaus Wirth
3
Birthdate: February 15, 1934
Birthplace: Winterthur, Switzerland

Turing Award-winning Swiss computer scientist Niklaus Wirth revolutionized information technology with his invention of computer languages such as ALGOL-W, PASCAL, and MODULA. He has also taught at Stanford and ETH Zürich and penned a number of books on algorithms and data structures. He has also popularized Wirth's law.

 26 
Brian Greene
(American Theoretical Physicist and Mathematician)
Brian Greene
6
Birthdate: February 9, 1963
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist Brian Greene is noted for popularising string theory through his books like The Elegant Universe, and The Fabric of the Cosmos and related PBS television specials. Greene taught as professor of physics at Cornell University, and presently serves as a professor at Columbia University. He is the co-founder and chairman of the World Science Festival.

 27 
Peggy Whitson
(Biochemistry Researcher and First Female Astronaut to Command the International Space Station)
Peggy Whitson
7
Birthdate: February 9, 1960
Birthplace: Beaconsfield, Iowa, United States

The first woman to command the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson was born to farmers and decided to become an astronaut after watching the moon landing on TV. She also boasts of a PhD in biochemistry and has been a researcher and educator of biochemistry and genetic engineering.

 28 
Andre Marie Ampere
7
Birthdate: January 20, 1775
Birthplace: Parish of St. Nizier, Lyon, France
Died: June 10, 1836

Andre Marie Ampere was a French physicist and mathematician. He is best known for being one of the founders of the science of classical electromagnetism. He was a professor at the École Polytechnique and the Collège de France and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. The base SI unit of electric current, the ampere, is named after him. 

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 29 
Daniel Bernoulli
(Mathematician)
Daniel Bernoulli
4
Birthdate: February 8, 1700
Birthplace: Groningen
Died: March 17, 1782

Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss physicist and mathematician. Born into the popular Bernoulli family of mathematicians, Daniel Bernoulli is renowned for his applications of mathematical equations to mechanics. He is also remembered for his pioneering work in statistics and probability. In 2002, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.

 30 
Swedenborg
(Swedish Christian Scientist, Philosopher and Theologian Best Known for His Book ‘Heaven and Hell’)
Swedenborg
6
Birthdate: January 29, 1688
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Died: March 29, 1772

Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian philosopher, mystic, theologian, and scientist. Swedenborg started hogging the limelight after writing a book on the afterlife titled Heaven and Hell, which released in 1758. A prolific scientist and inventor, Swedenborg experienced spiritual awakening after which he started working on reforming Christianity. He even claimed that he could converse with angels and demons.

 31 
Vitalik Buterin
(Computer scientist)
Vitalik Buterin
16
Birthdate: January 31, 1994
Birthplace: Kolomna, Russia
 32 
Alfred North Whitehead
(Mathematician, Philosopher)
Alfred North Whitehead
9
Birthdate: February 15, 1861
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.

 33 
Ronald Fisher
(Statistician)
Ronald Fisher
4
Birthdate: February 17, 1890
Birthplace: East Finchley, London, England
Died: July 29, 1962

Ronald Fisher was a British polymath, statistician, geneticist, mathematician, and academic. He is credited to have single-handedly created the foundations for modern statistical science. He made important contributions to the field of genetics and is known as one of the three principal founders of population genetics. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1929. 

 34 
John Maynard Smith
(Mathematician, Evolutionary Biologist, Geneticist and One of the Founding Members of the 'University of Sussex')
John Maynard Smith
3
Birthdate: February 6, 1920
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 19, 2004

One of the most influential evolutionary biologists of his generation, John Maynard Smith was originally aeronautical engineer. Later, he took a second degree in genetics and did extensive research on subjects like population genetics and evolution of sex. Known for formalizing the central concept in evolutionary game theory, he introduced the evolutionarily stable strategy, impacting a wide variety of studies.  

 35 
Ray Kurzweil
(Computer scientist and Futurist)
Ray Kurzweil
4
Birthdate: February 12, 1948
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Ray Kurzweil is an American futurist and inventor best known for his work in fields like optical character recognition, speech recognition technology, and text-to-speech synthesis. A proponent of life extension technologies and robotics, Kurzweil was honored with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 1999. In 2002, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

 36 
Theodosius Dobzhansky
(Russian-American Geneticist and Evolutionary Biologist)
Theodosius Dobzhansky
5
Birthdate: January 25, 1900
Birthplace: Nemyriv, Ukraine
Died: December 18, 1975

Theodosius Dobzhansky was a Ukrainian-American geneticist and evolutionary biologist. He played a key role in shaping modern synthesis in the field of evolutionary biology.  His 1937 book, Genetics and the Origin of Species, is a seminal work on modern synthesis. He was the recipient of several awards, including the US National Medal of Science and the Franklin Medal.  

 37 
Leó Szilárd
(Physicist)
Leó Szilárd
6
Birthdate: February 11, 1898
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.

 38 
Wilder Penfield
(Surgeon, Neuroscientist, Neurosurgeon, University teacher, Neurologist)
Wilder Penfield
9
Birthdate: January 26, 1891
Birthplace: Spokane
Died: April 5, 1976

Neuroscientist Wilder Penfield redefined medical science with his innovative way of treating epilepsy patients through surgery. He would note down his patients’ responses when they would be conscious under local anesthesia. He also founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, but was unable to cure his sister’s brain cancer.

 39 
Auguste Piccard
(Chemist)
Auguste Piccard
6
Birthdate: January 28, 1884
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.

 40 
Ernst Mach
(Physicist)
Ernst Mach
6
Birthdate: February 18, 1838
Birthplace: Brno, Czech Republic
Died: February 19, 1916

Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach is remembered for his contributions to the study of shock waves. He is also credited for discovering a non-acoustic function of the inner ear that helps control human balance. As a philosopher of science, he is considered a major influence on logical positivism and American pragmatism. 

 41 
Abdus Salam
(Theoretical Physicist)
Abdus Salam
7
Birthdate: January 29, 1926
Birthplace: Sahiwal
Died: November 21, 1996

Abdus Salam was a Pakistani theoretical physicist who became the first Pakistani to be honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics. He was also the second person from an Islamic country to receive any Nobel Prize. He won the award in 1979 for his work concerning the electroweak unification theory. Salam played a major role in popularizing physics in Pakistan.

 42 
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
(British Politician and Zoologist Who Served as a Member of Parliament from Aylesbury)
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
4
Birthdate: February 8, 1868
Birthplace: England
Died: August 27, 1937

Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild was a British soldier, politician, zoologist, and banker. He is best remembered for his service as the president of the largest Jewish communal organization in the UK, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, between 1925 and 1926. Walter Rothschild also made immense contributions to the field of zoology.

 43 
Lotfi A. Zadeh
(Mathematician and Computer Scientist)
Lotfi A. Zadeh
3
Birthdate: February 4, 1921
Birthplace: Baku, Azerbaijan
Died: September 6, 2017
 44 
Kevin Warwick
(Engineer, Writer, University teacher, Computer scientist)
Kevin Warwick
3
Birthdate: February 9, 1954
Birthplace: Coventry

A professor at the Coventry and Reading universities, engineer Kevin Warwicke specializes in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biomedical engineering. One of his most interesting research interests is the possibility of creating cyborgs, which has earned him the nickname Captain Cyborg. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from several universities.

 45 
David D. Friedman
(Economist, Physicist, Blogger, Writer, University teacher)
David D. Friedman
7
Birthdate: February 12, 1945
Birthplace: New York City

Eminent scholar David D. Friedman has excelled in a wide range of academic areas, including economics, physics, law, and business. The Harvard alumnus is best known for his anarcho-capitalist theories and the book The Machinery of Freedom but has penned countless other books, too, including two science-fiction fantasy novels.

 46 
Boris Berezovsky
(Russian Business Oligarch, Government Official, Engineer and Mathematician)
Boris Berezovsky
4
Birthdate: January 23, 1946
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: March 23, 2013

Russian business-tycoon, engineer, mathematician and government official Boris Berezovsky is counted among the famed Russian oligarchs who made their fortunes during the 1990s, when Russia was going through privatization of state property. He remained a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin since the latter’s election as president in 2000 and was granted political asylum by the UK in 2003.

 47 
Philippe Cousteau Jr.
(Oceanographer and Environmental Activist)
Philippe Cousteau Jr.
4
Birthdate: January 20, 1980
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States

Known for the documentary Ocean's Deadliest, which he co-hosted with Steve Irwin, oceanographer Philippe Cousteau Jr. also earned an Emmy nomination for his work in Awesome Planet. The grandson of naval officer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Philippe had lost his father, sailor and filmmaker Philippe Cousteau, 6 months before his birth.

 48 
Julian Schwinger
(Physicist)
Julian Schwinger
5
Birthdate: February 12, 1918
Birthplace: New York City
Died: July 16, 1994
 49 
Mary Leakey
(British Paleoanthropologist Who Discovered the First Fossilised 'Proconsul Skull')
Mary Leakey
3
Birthdate: February 6, 1913
Birthplace: London, England
Died: December 9, 1996

British paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey had exhibited her interest in drawing and archaeology as a kid. Most of her career was spent working alongside her husband, Louis Leakey. She was in charge of many excavation projects in Kenya. Her discoveries include the first Proconsul skull fossil and 15 new animal species.

 50 
Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
(German Mathematician Who Made Valuable Contributions to Number Theory, Analysis and Mechanics)
Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
3
Birthdate: February 13, 1805
Birthplace: Düren, Germany
Died: May 5, 1859

German mathematician Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet is remembered for his invaluable contribution to number theory. He pioneered the concept of a function, expressed through the equation y = f (x). Though his parents wanted him to become a merchant, his mastery of math made them change their minds.