The Scientific 100

Who are the greatest scientific minds in history, and what achievements have earned them their renown? From Archimedes and Stephen Hawking to Copernicus and Albert Einstein, The Scientific 100 provides the fascinating, and sometimes surprising, answers.

Respected science historian John Galbraith Simmons surveys more than 2,000 years of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries to profile the 100 physicists, geologists, astronomers, psychologists, chemists, biologists, and other celebrities of science who saw farther than their contemporaries, and used their vision and ingenuity to unlock the secrets of the natural world. Some of Simmons’s choices are inarguable and others controversial, but all shed light on the scientific method and the men and women who fearlessly investigate the mysteries of the universe.

Through the vivid biographical sketches compiled in this book, you will learn the history behind the innovations and discoveries we now consider indispensible, including the modern computer, the polio vaccine, pasteurization, and the structure of DNA. Many of the discoveries described, among them William Harvey’s observations on the circulation of blood, are so fundamental that we now take them for granted. Some, like Copernicus’s conception of a heliocentric solar system, changed the way we see our place in the universe, while others, including Sigmund Freud’s principles of psychotherapy, gave us new insights into how we see ourselves. And since every reaction evokes an equal and opposite reaction — that’s from Isaac Newton, who also makes the cut — the author includes a list of honorable mentions for achievementsthat some might consider inexcusable omissions.

Ranked provocatively in order of influence, The Scientific 100 will give you a sense of the overall breadth and diversity of scientific discovery — and serve as a source of further discussion and debate.

• Author
• John Galbraith Simmons

• Format
• hardcover

• Pages
• 528

• Publisher
• Fall River Press

• Language
• english

• ISBN
• 9781435117358

• Genres
• science, history, reference

• Release date
• 2009