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Meet the people who changed our world.
Discover the scientists, inventors and thinkers behind the ideas that shape our lives — from the discovery of radioactivity to the first steps on the Moon.
Scientist of the Day
September 16th
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Physicist and Instrument Maker
A scientific instrument maker from Danzig who developed highly reproducible mercury thermometers and the Fahrenheit temperature scale.
On This Day in Science
September 16th
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit dies
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, the physicist and instrument maker, passed away on this day in 1736. Their contributions continue to shape physics today.
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From the smallest atom to the farthest galaxy — find the people who unlocked each field of science.
Featured Super Scientists
Some of the most remarkable minds in human history.
Luigi Federico Menabrea
1809–1896 · Engineer
Publishing an important early account of Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine after hearing Babbage explain the machine in Turin, and for important work in structural mechanics.
Anders Celsius
1701–1744 · Astronomer and Physicist
Proposed the centigrade temperature scale in 1742, later renamed Celsius in his honour.
Alessandro Volta
1745–1827 · Physicist
Invented the voltaic pile in 1800, the first electric battery capable of producing a continuous current. The volt is named after him.
Percy Julian
1899–1975 · Chemist
Synthesizing important medicines from plant compounds, including the first total synthesis of physostigmine with Josef Pikl, and pioneering methods for producing medically important steroid compounds from plant materials.
Albert Einstein
1879–1955 · Theoretical Physicist
Developing the theory of relativity and the equation E=mc².
Alfred Wegener
1880–1930 · Meteorologist & Geophysicist
Proposed the theory of continental drift, the foundation of modern plate tectonics.
Amazing Discoveries
In-depth stories behind the world's greatest scientific breakthroughs.
The War of the Currents
Before electricity became something people simply expected from a wall socket, two incompatible systems competed to power America. The argument involved engineering, money, public fear and three men whose roles are still regularly confused.
The Quantum Revolution
Physics had been spectacularly successful at explaining the everyday world. Then experiments with light and atoms began producing results that the old rules could not handle. What followed was one of the strangest and most successful revolutions in science.
The Double Helix
The race to uncover DNA's structure brought together brilliant experiments, model-building, fierce competition and a dispute over credit that still shapes how the discovery is remembered.
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