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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
painting of a women in a lab
Elisabeth Bakker *
ca. 1600s
Arnold O. Beckman
1900 - 2004
A mannequin wearing an 18th-century style blue dress with lace and elaborate hairstyle.
Blue Silk Dress
ca. 1700s
Portrait of Helia Bravo-Hollis, 2001.
Helia Bravo-Hollis
1901 - 2001
black and white portrait of a woman
Mary Letitia Caldwell
1890 - 1972
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
1907 - 1964
illustration from Grounds of Natural Philosophy book
Margaret Lucas Cavendish
1623 - 1673
black and white of a women holding up a herbarium
Mary Agnes Chase
1869 - 1963
James Watson and Francis Crick
Francis Crick
1916 - 2004
It's a sepia-toned portrait of a man (John Dalton) wearing glasses, dressed in 19th-century attire.
John Dalton
1766 - 1844
An image of Marie Maynard Daly, a black woman scientist in a lab coat works with test tubes in a laboratory.
Marie Maynard Daly
1921 - 2003
man in a hat smoking a pipe
Paul de Kruif
1890 - 1971
A person with white hair and a beard is wearing a suit, with framed certificates on the wall behind.
Carl Djerassi
1923 - 2015
Rosalind Franklin
1920 - 1958
Yeast Art portrait of Fanny Angelina Hesse
Fanny Angelina Hesse
1850 - 1934
man standing at a table looking down
Eizi Matuda
1894 - 1978
portrait of a man with a beard
Hudson Maxim
1853 - 1927
Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian
1647 - 1717
Margery Milne
1914 - 2006
color portrait of a man sitting in a chair
Friedrich Mohs
1773 - 1839
black and white photo of a man
Isaac Ochoterena
1895 - 1950
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Robert W. Parry
1917 - 2006
woman with glasses seated at a table reading a book
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
1900 - 1979
Julius Richard Petri pictured at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, ca. 1800s
Julius Richard Petri
1852 - 1921
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
Theodore William Richards
1868 - 1928
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