SCIENTIST AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION

BOLINBOUGH, PATRICK OWEN C.

 WILLIAM HARVEY
ENGLISH PHYSICIAN

• WILLIAM HARVEY, (BORN APRIL 1, 1578, FOLKESTONE,

KENT, ENGLAND—DIED JUNE 3, 1657, LONDON),
ENGLISH PHYSICIAN WHO WAS THE FIRST TO
RECOGNIZE THE FULL CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD IN
THE HUMAN BODY AND TO PROVIDE EXPERIMENTS AND
ARGUMENTS TO SUPPORT THIS IDEA.
•HE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT
THE HEART'S FOUR VALVES PERMITTED
FLOW OF BLOOD IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY:
FROM THE RIGHT VENTRICLE TO THE
LUNGS, BACK TO THE LEFT VENTRICLE,
AND FROM THERE TO THE AORTA. 
 ROBERT BOYLE
ANGLO-IRISH PHILOSOPHER AND WRITER

• ROBERT BOYLE FRS  (/BƆɪL/; 25 JANUARY 1627 – 31 DECEMBER 1691) WAS AN ANGLO-IRISH[7] 

[6]

NATURAL PHILOSOPHER, CHEMIST, PHYSICIST, AND INVENTOR. BOYLE IS LARGELY REGARDED

TODAY AS THE FIRST MODERN CHEMIST (A TITLE SOME GIVE TO 8TH CENTURY ISLAMIC
SCHOLAR JABIR IBN HAYYAN), AND THEREFORE ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF MODERN 
CHEMISTRY, AND ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF MODERN EXPERIMENTAL SCIENTIFIC METHOD. HE
IS BEST KNOWN FOR BOYLE'S LAW,[8] WHICH DESCRIBES THE INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ABSOLUTE PRESSURE AND VOLUME OF A GAS, IF THE
TEMPERATURE IS KEPT CONSTANT WITHIN A CLOSED SYSTEM.[9] AMONG HIS WORKS, THE
SCEPTICAL CHYMIST IS SEEN AS A CORNERSTONE BOOK IN THE FIELD OF CHEMISTRY. HE WAS
A DEVOUT AND PIOUS ANGLICAN AND IS NOTED FOR HIS WRITINGS IN
• EVERY GENERAL-CHEMISTRY STUDENT LEARNS
OF ROBERT BOYLE (1627–1691) AS THE PERSON WHO
DISCOVERED THAT THE VOLUME OF A GAS DECREASES
WITH INCREASING PRESSURE AND VICE VERSA—THE
FAMOUS BOYLE'S LAW.
• ROBERT BOYLE'S MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO
THE ATOMIC THEORY WAS THAT HE HELPED DEVELOP A
DEFINITION OF AN ELEMENT ( ANY SUBSTANCE THAT CAN BE
BROKEN INTO 2 OR MORE SUBSTANCES IS NOT AN ELEMENT) AND
HELPED WITH " THE DEATH" OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS. ALSO HE
HELPED CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE THINK OF SCIENCE.
 ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK
DUTCH SCIENTIST

• ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK, (BORN OCTOBER 24, 1632, DELFT,

NETHERLANDS—DIED AUGUST 26, 1723, DELFT), DUTCH MICROSCOPIST WHO
WAS THE FIRST TO OBSERVE BACTERIA AND PROTOZOA. HIS RESEARCHES ON
LOWER ANIMALS REFUTED THE DOCTRINE OF SPONTANEOUS GENERATION,
AND HIS OBSERVATIONS HELPED LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE SCIENCES
OF BACTERIOLOGY AND PROTOZOOLOGY.
 WHAT IS ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK
FAMOUS FOR?
ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK, (BORN OCTOBER
24, 1632, DELFT, NETHERLANDS—DIED AUGUST
26, 1723, DELFT), DUTCH MICROSCOPIST WHO
WAS THE FIRST TO OBSERVE BACTERIA AND
PROTOZOA
 ROBERT HOOKE
BRITISH SCIENTIST

• ROBERT HOOKE, (BORN JULY 18 [JULY 28, NEW STYLE], 1635, FRESHWATER, 

ISLE OF WIGHT, ENGLAND—DIED MARCH 3, 1703, LONDON), ENGLISH
PHYSICIST WHO DISCOVERED THE LAW OF ELASTICITY, KNOWN AS 
HOOKE’S LAW, AND WHO DID RESEARCH IN A REMARKABLE VARIETY OF
FIELDS.
 HOOKE’S LAW
• EXTENSION AND COMPRESSION
• EXTENSION HAPPENS WHEN AN OBJECT INCREASES IN LENGTH, AND
COMPRESSION HAPPENS WHEN IT DECREASES IN LENGTH. THE EXTENSION
OF AN ELASTIC OBJECT, SUCH AS A SPRING, IS DESCRIBED BY HOOKE'S LAW:
• FORCE = SPRING CONSTANT × EXTENSION F=KE
• THIS IS WHEN:
• FORCE (F) IS MEASURED IN NEWTONS (N)
• SPRING CONSTANT (K) IS MEASURED IN NEWTONS PER METRE (N/M)
• EXTENSION (E), OR INCREASE IN LENGTH, IS MEASURED IN METRES (M)
 JOHN RAY
ENGLISH NATURALIST

• JOHN RAY, RAY ALSO SPELLED (UNTIL 1670) WRAY, (BORN

NOV. 29, 1627, BLACK NOTLEY, ESSEX, ENG.—DIED JAN. 17, 1705,
BLACK NOTLEY), LEADING 17TH-CENTURY ENGLISH NATURALIST
AND BOTANIST WHO CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO
PROGRESS IN TAXONOMY. HIS ENDURING LEGACY TO BOTANY
WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIES AS THE ULTIMATE UNIT
OF TAXONOMY.
•RAY'S CONTRIBUTION TO BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY
LAY NOT IN MICROSCOPY BUT IN TAXONOMY. HE
WAS THE FIRST TO USE THE CONCEPT OF
'SPECIES' AS A TAXONOMICAL SUB-DIVISION, AND
THE FIRST TO ATTEMPT TO CLASSIFY BOTANICAL
SPECIMENS SYSTEMATICALLY, INCORPORATING
INFORMATION ABOUT EACH PLANT'S
PHARMACOLOGICAL AND MEDICINAL QUALITIES.
 ISAAC NEWTON
ENGLISH PHYSICIST AND MATHEMATICIAN

• ISAAC NEWTON, IN FULL SIR ISAAC NEWTON, (BORN DECEMBER 25, 1642 [JANUARY 4, 1643, NEW
STYLE], WOOLSTHORPE, LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND—DIED MARCH 20 [MARCH 31], 1727, LONDON),
ENGLISH PHYSICIST AND MATHEMATICIAN, WHO WAS THE CULMINATING FIGURE OF THE 
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION OF THE 17TH CENTURY. IN OPTICS, HIS DISCOVERY OF THE COMPOSITION
 OF WHITE LIGHT INTEGRATED THE PHENOMENA OF COLOURS INTO THE SCIENCE OF LIGHT AND
LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR MODERN PHYSICAL OPTICS. IN MECHANICS, 
HIS THREE LAWS OF MOTION, THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF MODERN PHYSICS, RESULTED IN THE
FORMULATION OF THE LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION. IN MATHEMATICS, HE WAS THE
ORIGINAL DISCOVERER OF THE INFINITESIMAL CALCULUS. NEWTON’S PHILOSOPHIAE NATURALIS
PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA (MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, 1687) WAS ONE
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE WORKS IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN SCIENCE.
 CAROLUS LINNAEUS
SWEDISH BOTANIST

• CAROLUS LINNAEUS, ALSO CALLED CARL LINNAEUS,

SWEDISH CARL VON LINNÉ, (BORN MAY 23, 1707, RÅSHULT, 
SMÅLAND, SWEDEN—DIED JANUARY 10, 1778, UPPSALA), SWEDISH
NATURALIST AND EXPLORER WHO WAS THE FIRST TO FRAME
PRINCIPLES FOR DEFINING NATURAL GENERA AND SPECIES OF
ORGANISMS AND TO CREATE A UNIFORM SYSTEM FOR NAMING
THEM (BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE).
 HENRY CAVENDISH
BRITISH PHYSICIST

• HENRY CAVENDISH, (BORN OCTOBER 10, 1731, NICE, FRANCE—DIED FEBRUARY

24, 1810, LONDON, ENGLAND), NATURAL PHILOSOPHER, THE GREATEST
EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL ENGLISH CHEMIST AND PHYSICIST OF HIS
AGE. CAVENDISH WAS DISTINGUISHED FOR GREAT ACCURACY AND PRECISION IN
RESEARCH INTO THE COMPOSITION OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR, THE PROPERTIES OF
DIFFERENT GASES, THE SYNTHESIS OF WATER, THE LAW GOVERNING ELECTRICAL
ATTRACTION AND REPULSION, A MECHANICAL THEORY OF HEAT, AND
CALCULATIONS OF THE DENSITY (AND HENCE THE WEIGHT) OF EARTH. HIS
EXPERIMENT TO WEIGH EARTH HAS COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE 
CAVENDISH EXPERIMENT.
 JOSEPH PRIESTLEY
ENGLISH CLERGYMAN AND SCIENTIST

• JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, (BORN MARCH 13, 1733, BIRSTALL

FIELDHEAD, NEAR LEEDS, YORKSHIRE [NOW WEST YORKSHIRE],
ENGLAND—DIED FEBRUARY 6, 1804, NORTHUMBERLAND, 
PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.), ENGLISH CLERGYMAN, POLITICAL THEORIST,
AND PHYSICAL SCIENTIST WHOSE WORK CONTRIBUTED TO
ADVANCES IN LIBERAL POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT AND
IN EXPERIMENTAL CHEMISTRY. HE IS BEST REMEMBERED FOR HIS
CONTRIBUTION TO THE CHEMISTRY OF GASES.
 LUIGI GALVANI
ITALIAN PHYSICIAN AND PHYSICIST

• LUIGI GALVANI, (BORN SEPTEMBER 9, 1737, BOLOGNA, 

PAPAL STATES [ITALY]—DIED DECEMBER 4, 1798, BOLOGNA,
CISALPINE REPUBLIC), ITALIAN PHYSICIAN AND PHYSICIST WHO
INVESTIGATED THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF WHAT HE CONCEIVED
TO BE ELECTRICITY IN ANIMAL TISSUE. HIS DISCOVERIES LED TO
THE INVENTION OF THE VOLTAIC PILE, A KIND OF BATTERY THAT
MAKES POSSIBLE A CONSTANT SOURCE OF CURRENT ELECTRICITY.
 WILLIAM HERSCHEL
BRITISH-GERMAN ASTRONOMER

• WILLIAM HERSCHEL, IN FULL SIR WILLIAM FREDERICK HERSCHEL,

ORIGINAL NAME FRIEDRICH WILHELM HERSCHEL, (BORN NOVEMBER 15,
1738, HANNOVER, HANOVER—DIED AUGUST 25, 1822, SLOUGH, 
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND), GERMAN-BORN BRITISH ASTRONOMER, THE
FOUNDER OF SIDEREAL ASTRONOMY FOR THE SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION OF
THE HEAVENS. HE DISCOVERED THE PLANET URANUS, HYPOTHESIZED THAT 
NEBULAE ARE COMPOSED OF STARS, AND DEVELOPED A THEORY OF STELLAR
EVOLUTION. HE WAS KNIGHTED IN 1816.
 ANTOINE-LAURENT LAVOISIER
FRENCH CHEMIST

• ANTOINE LAVOISIER, IN FULL ANTOINE-LAURENT LAVOISIER, (BORN 

AUGUST 26, 1743, PARIS, FRANCE—DIED MAY 8, 1794, PARIS), PROMINENT FRENCH
CHEMIST AND LEADING FIGURE IN THE 18TH-CENTURY CHEMICAL REVOLUTION
WHO DEVELOPED AN EXPERIMENTALLY BASED THEORY OF THE CHEMICAL
REACTIVITY OF OXYGEN AND COAUTHORED THE MODERN SYSTEM FOR NAMING
CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES. HAVING ALSO SERVED AS A LEADING FINANCIER AND
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR BEFORE THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, HE WAS
EXECUTED WITH OTHER FINANCIERS DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY TERROR.
 PIERRE-SIMON, MARQUIS DE LAPLACE
FRENCH SCIENTIST AND MATHEMATICIAN

• PIERRE-SIMON, MARQUIS DE LAPLACE, (BORN

MARCH 23, 1749, BEAUMOUNT-EN-AUGE, NORMANDY,
FRANCE—DIED MARCH 5, 1827, PARIS), FRENCH
MATHEMATICIAN, ASTRONOMER, AND PHYSICIST WHO
WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE
STABILITY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
 EDWARD JENNER
ENGLISH SURGEON

• BERKELEY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—DIED JANUARY 26, 1823, BERKELEY),

ENGLISH SURGEON AND DISCOVERER OF VACCINATION FOR SMALLPOX.

• JENNER WAS BORN AT A TIME WHEN THE PATTERNS OF BRITISH 

MEDICAL PRACTICE AND EDUCATION WERE UNDERGOING GRADUAL CHANGE.
SLOWLY THE DIVISION BETWEEN THE OXFORD- OR CAMBRIDGE-TRAINED
PHYSICIANS AND THE APOTHECARIES OR SURGEONS—WHO WERE MUCH LESS
EDUCATED AND WHO ACQUIRED THEIR MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH
APPRENTICESHIP RATHER THAN THROUGH ACADEMIC WORK—WAS BECOMING
LESS SHARP, AND HOSPITAL WORK WAS BECOMING MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.
 JOHN DALTON
BRITISH SCIENTIST

•EAGLESFIELD, CUMBERLAND, ENGLAND—DIED
JULY 27, 1844, MANCHESTER), ENGLISH
METEOROLOGIST AND CHEMIST, A PIONEER IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN 
ATOMIC THEORY.
 GEORGES CUVIER
FRENCH ZOOLOGIST

• GEORGES CUVIER, IN FULL GEORGES-LÉOPOLD-CHRÉTIEN-

FRÉDÉRIC-DAGOBERT, BARON CUVIER, (BORN AUGUST 23,
1769, MONTBÉLIARD [NOW IN FRANCE]—DIED MAY 13, 1832, PARIS,
FRANCE), FRENCH ZOOLOGIST AND STATESMAN, WHO
ESTABLISHED THE SCIENCES OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND 
PALEONTOLOGY.
 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT
GERMAN EXPLORER AND NATURALIST

• ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT, IN FULL FRIEDRICH WILHELM

HEINRICH ALEXANDER, FREIHERR (BARON) VON HUMBOLDT, (BORN
SEPT. 14, 1769, BERLIN—DIED MAY 6, 1859, BERLIN), GERMAN NATURALIST AND
EXPLORER WHO WAS A MAJOR FIGURE IN THE CLASSICAL PERIOD OF
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY—AREAS OF SCIENCE NOW
INCLUDED IN THE EARTH SCIENCES AND ECOLOGY. WITH HIS
BOOK KOSMOS HE MADE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE
POPULARIZATION OF SCIENCE. THE HUMBOLDT CURRENT OFF THE WEST
COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA WAS NAMED AFTER HIM.