Scientists From Maryland

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 1 
Benjamin Banneker
(Compiler of Almanacs)
Benjamin Banneker
6
Birthdate: November 9, 1731
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Died: October 9, 1806

Benjamin Banneker was born to a free African-American mother and a former slave father, and was largely self-educated. While he showed immense talent in both mathematics and astronomy, having predicted a solar eclipse with precision, he also wrote essays on civil rights and rallied against slavery.

 2 
Edward Witten
(Mathematician, Physicist, University teacher, Theoretical physicist)
Edward Witten
16
Birthdate: August 26, 1951
Sun Sign: Virgo

American mathematical and theoretical physicist Edward Witten is regarded as the practical founder of M-theory. His proof of positive energy theorem led him to become the first physicist who received the Fields Medal by International Mathematical Union. His research works mainly include the areas of string theory, supersymmetric quantum field theories and quantum gravity, besides other areas of mathematical physics.  

 3 
Valerie Thomas
(scientist and inventor)
Valerie Thomas
3
Birthdate: 1943 AD
After becoming one of the two female students in her university class to graduate in physics, Valerie Thomas joined NASA as a data analyst. While she oversaw the Landsat program, she is best remembered for inventing the illusion transmitter, which helped project a 3D optical illusion using concave mirrors.
 4 
David Herold
(Accomplice of John Wilkes Booth, the Man Who Killed Abraham Lincoln)
David Herold
4
Birthdate: June 16, 1842
Sun Sign: Gemini
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.   

 5 
Danny Hillis
(American Inventor, Entrepreneur and Computer Scientist)
Danny Hillis
3
Birthdate: September 25, 1956
Sun Sign: Libra
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 6 
Bert Vogelstein
(Oncologist)
Bert Vogelstein
7
Birthdate: June 2, 1949
Sun Sign: Gemini
 7 
Solomon W. Golomb
(Mathematician)
Solomon W. Golomb
2
Birthdate: May 30, 1932
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: May 1, 2016
 8 
Francis Peyton Rous
(American Pathologist & Winner of 1966 Nobel Prize in Medicine)
Francis Peyton Rous
2
Birthdate: October 5, 1879
Sun Sign: Libra
Died: February 16, 1970

Francis Peyton Rous was an American pathologist best remembered for his works in blood transfusion, oncoviruses, and physiology of digestion. In 1966, Rous was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery in 1911 that led to the understanding of how viruses influence the progression of certain types of cancer.

 9 
Martin Rodbell
(Biochemist)
Martin Rodbell
2
Birthdate: December 1, 1925
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: December 7, 1998

American biochemist and molecular endocrinologist Martin Rodbell is best remembered for his discovery of G-proteins while jointly investigating (with Alfred G. Gilman) stimulation of cells by adrenaline. The two jointly received the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovery of this family of proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells.

 10 
Hugh Latimer Dryden
(Scientist)
Hugh Latimer Dryden
1
Birthdate: July 2, 1898
Sun Sign: Cancer
Died: December 2, 1965
 11 
Harry Fielding Reid
(Geophysicist)
Harry Fielding Reid
1
Birthdate: May 18, 1859
Sun Sign: Taurus
Died: June 18, 1944
 12 
Hattie Alexander
(American Microbiologist and Pediatrician)
Hattie Alexander
1
Birthdate: April 5, 1901
Sun Sign: Aries
Died: June 24, 1968

Hattie Alexander was an American microbiologist and pediatrician. She is remembered for her service as the head of the bacterial infections program and as the lead microbiologist at Columbia-Presbyterian. Alexander occupied numerous positions at Columbia University, where she was respected for her work. She is the recipient of many awards, including the Elizabeth Blackwell Award and the E.Mead Johnson Award.

 13 
Sharon Matola
(Founding director of the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center)
Sharon Matola
0
Birthdate: June 3, 1954
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: March 21, 2021
 14 
John Woodland Hastings
(Biochemist)
John Woodland Hastings
2
Birthdate: March 24, 1927
Sun Sign: Aries
Died: August 6, 2014

John Woodland Hastings was one of the pioneers of the study on bioluminescence and circadian rhythms, or sleep cycles. He was part of a church choir in his younger days and grew up to study at Princeton University. The Harvard professor was also associated with the Massachusetts-based Marine Biological Laboratory.

 15 
Michael D. Griffin
(Physicist)
Michael D. Griffin
0
Birthdate: November 1, 1949
Sun Sign: Scorpio
 16 
William Bowie
(Engineer)
William Bowie
0
Birthdate: May 6, 1872
Sun Sign: Taurus
Died: August 28, 1940
 17 
John Lorain
(Agriculturalist)
John Lorain
0
Birthdate: 1753 AD
Died: 1823 AD
American farmer, merchant, agricultural writer, John Lorain was the first person to create a hybrid by combining two types of corn. His experiments anticipated the methods employed in the century following his death. In 1825, his book, Nature and Reason Harmonized in the Practice of Husbandry, was published by his widow. The book had descriptions of his experiments with hybrids.
 18 
William John Thaler
(Physicist)
William John Thaler
0
Birthdate: December 4, 1925
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: June 5, 2005
 19 
Joseph P. Iddings
(Geologist)
Joseph P. Iddings
0
Birthdate: January 21, 1857
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Died: September 8, 1920