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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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Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

This French chemist introduced the world to hydrogen and oxygen, terms that were at the heart of one of the hottest chemical debates of the 1700s.

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Detail of a French Philatelic First Day Cover commemorating the 2nd centenary of the birth of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, ca. 1943.
Science History Institute
Illustration of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier used on a French postage stamp

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group of noted scientists including William Astbury and Lawrence Bragg
William Astbury
1898 - 1961
Jacqueline K. Barton
b. 1952
A sepia-toned portrait of a woman with wavy hair, smiling, wearing a dark top.
Florence Ogilvy Bell
1913 - 2000
Paul Berg
1926 - 2023
Herbert Boyer in 2005.
Herbert W. Boyer
b. 1936
Stanley N. Cohen.
Stanley N. Cohen
b. 1935
James Watson and Francis Crick
Francis Crick
1916 - 2004
Hitchings and Elion in a lab wearing lab coats and smiling. They both hold black, blue, red, and white plastic models
Gertrude Elion
1918 - 1999
Rosalind Franklin
1920 - 1958
Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings in the laboratory, 1948.
George Hitchings
1905 - 1998
Undated photograph of Lee Riley
Lee W. Riley
1949 - 2022
Phillip Sharp
b. 1944
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
color photo of a man with a baby on his shoulders
Calvin Ross Sperling
1957 - 1995
Evangelina Villegas in a lab, ca. 1970.
Evangelina Villegas Moreno
1924(25) - 2017
James Watson and Francis Crick
James Watson
1928 - 2025
Maurice Wilkins with X-ray crystallographic equipment about 1954.
Maurice Wilkins
1916 - 2004

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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.