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Scientific Biographies

Science is a human pursuit. Meet some of the people who have contributed to the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.
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Humphry Davy

Davy was a charismatic English chemist, poet, inventor, fisherman, and scientific administrator. How have biographers approached his multifaceted story?

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Portrait of Sir Humphrey Davy Bar’t., after 1821.
Science History Institute
Portrait of Sir Humphrey Davy Bar't., after 1821.

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portrait of Jons jokob Brezelius
Jöns Jakob Berzelius
1779 - 1848
St. Elmo Brady in a chemistry lab at Fisk University. He is pouring a liquid from one beaker into another. There are counters of lab equipment surrounding him.
St. Elmo Brady
1884 - 1966
Portrait of Helia Bravo-Hollis, 2001.
Helia Bravo-Hollis
1901 - 2001
black and white portrait of a woman
Mary Letitia Caldwell
1890 - 1972
black and white photo of George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver
ca. 1864 - 1943
Professional portrait of E. M. A. Chandler, ca. 1930. He looks over his left shoulder and is wearing a suit.
Edward Chandler
1887 - 1973
black and white of a women holding up a herbarium
Mary Agnes Chase
1869 - 1963
Marie Sklodowska Curie
1867 - 1934
portrait of George Davis
George E. Davis
1850 - 1906
Portrait of Sir Humphrey Davy Bar't., after 1821.
Humphry Davy
1778 - 1829
Mary Lowe Good
1931 - 2019
Warren K. Lewis
Warren K. Lewis
1882 - 1975
Portrait of Justus von Liebig, after 1845.
Justus von Liebig
1803 - 1873
Arthur Dehon Little.
Arthur Little
1863 - 1935
color portrait of a man seated holding a quill pen and paper
Mikhail Vasil’evich Lomonosov
1711 - 1765
Jane Marcet
1769 - 1858
color portrait of a man sitting in a chair
Friedrich Mohs
1773 - 1839
Alfred Nobel
1833 - 1896
black and white photo of a man
Isaac Ochoterena
1895 - 1950
A professional portrait of Donald Othmer as a young man, wearing a suit and tie.
Donald F. Othmer
1904 - 1995
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Robert W. Parry
1917 - 2006
b/w photo of a women seated in a dress
Mary Engle Pennington
1872 - 1952
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Petr Rehbinder
1898 - 1972
portrait of Ellen Richards in a cap and gown
Ellen H. Swallow Richards
1842 - 1911
Portrait of Jokichi Takamine
Jokichi Takamine
1854 - 1922
black and white portrait of a man wearing a bowtie
Thomas Washington Talley
1868 - 1952
Evangelina Villegas in a lab, ca. 1970.
Evangelina Villegas Moreno
1924(25) - 2017
Portrait of William Walker
William Walker
1869 - 1934

About Scientific Biographies

Everything you need to know about our scientific biographies, including how to contact us, cite a biography, pitch a scientist, write a biography, or republish a biography.