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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.
Featured

Joseph John “J. J.” Thomson

Working at the intersection of physics and chemistry, Thomson identified the electron and developed a groundbreaking early atomic model.

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Portrait of J. J. Thomson.
Science History Institute

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painting of a women in a lab
Elisabeth Bakker *
ca. 1600s
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
Undated portrait of mycologist Vera Charles
Vera Katherine Charles
1877 - 1954
black and white of a women holding up a herbarium
Mary Agnes Chase
1869 - 1963
Autographed etching of Fritz Haber, 1922
Fritz Haber
1868 - 1934
Yeast Art portrait of Fanny Angelina Hesse
Fanny Angelina Hesse
1850 - 1934
Portrait of Justus von Liebig, after 1845.
Justus von Liebig
1803 - 1873
Carl von Linde
1842 - 1934
b/w photo of a women seated in a dress
Mary Engle Pennington
1872 - 1952
portrait of Ellen Richards in a cap and gown
Ellen H. Swallow Richards
1842 - 1911
color photo of a man with a baby on his shoulders
Calvin Ross Sperling
1957 - 1995
Portrait of Jokichi Takamine
Jokichi Takamine
1854 - 1922
Evangelina Villegas in a lab, ca. 1970.
Evangelina Villegas Moreno
1924(25) - 2017
Harvey Washington Wiley
1844 - 1930

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.