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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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black and white photo of an older woman wearing glasses
Kathryn C. “Kitty” Hach-Darrow
1922 - 2020
Alice Hamilton
1869 - 1970
Paula Hammond in her lab at MIT.
Paula Hammond
b. 1963
Anna Jane Harrison
1912 - 1998
Elizabeth Lee Hazen
1885 - 1975
Yeast Art portrait of Fanny Angelina Hesse
Fanny Angelina Hesse
1850 - 1934
Dorothy Hodgkin in 1991 is shown seated and smiling. Her hair is half up and she is wearing a floral dress with brown panels.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
1910 - 1994
woman with gray hair wearing glasses
Darleane C. Hoffman
1926 - 2025
old photograph of two people in a lab
Irène Joliot-Curie
1897 - 1956
Stephanie L. Kwolek
1923 - 2014
Jane Marcet
1769 - 1858
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
b. 1953
A black-and-white photograph of a woman with a serious expression, wearing a dark top with a white collar.
Lise Meitner
1878 - 1968
Undated photograph of biochemist Maud Leonora Menten.
Maud Leonora Menten
1879 - 1960
Portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian
1647 - 1717
Margery Milne
1914 - 2006
woman with glasses seated at a table reading a book
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
1900 - 1979
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
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
Susan Solomon
b. 1956
Evangelina Villegas in a lab, ca. 1970.
Evangelina Villegas Moreno
1924(25) - 2017
Rosalyn Yalow
1921 - 2011
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