About Magazine Podcasts Events
Museum Hours:Wednesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm

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

Julius Richard Petri

A physician who studied bacteria, Petri’s name became associated with small covered dishes that are essential to laboratory research in the life sciences.

Learn More
Julius Richard Petri pictured at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, ca. 1880s.
Courtesy of the Museum of the Robert Koch Institute
Julius Richard Petri pictured at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, ca. 1800s

Filter biographies

Undated portrait of William Ramsay.
William Ramsay
1852 - 1916
black and white photo of a man in a lab
Petr Rehbinder
1898 - 1972
Theodore William Richards
1868 - 1928
portrait of Ellen Richards in a cap and gown
Ellen H. Swallow Richards
1842 - 1911
Rosenkranz in a suit and tie, smiling
George Rosenkranz
1916 - 2019
Rutherford with a thick mustache wearing a dark three-piece suit
Ernest Rutherford
1871 - 1937
Albert Sabin demonstrates how the oral vaccine for polio is given to children.
Albert Bruce Sabin
1906 - 1993
Jonas Salk
1914 - 1995
Black and white photograph of Glenn T. Seaborg in an office
Glenn Theodore Seaborg
1912 - 1999
sepia toned portrait of a man in coat and riding boots
Ignaz Semmelweis
1818 - 1865
Phillip Sharp
b. 1944
Hideki Shirakawa
Hideki Shirakawa
b. 1936
woman seated writing notes
Maxine Singer
1931 - 2024
Richard E. Smalley
1943 - 2005
Susan Solomon
b. 1956
Undated photo of Danish chemist Soren Sorensen working in a lab.
Søren Sørensen
1868 - 1939
color photo of a man with a baby on his shoulders
Calvin Ross Sperling
1957 - 1995
Hermann Staudinger
1881 - 1965
Fritz Strassmann.
Fritz Strassmann
1902 - 1980
Albert sits on a chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his legs and hands clasped.
Albert Szent-Györgyi
1893 - 1986
Portrait of Jokichi Takamine
Jokichi Takamine
1854 - 1922
black and white portrait of a man wearing a bowtie
Thomas Washington Talley
1868 - 1952
Joseph John “J. J.” Thomson
1856 - 1940
Donald wears a suit and maroon tie. There is an orange background.
Donald A. Tomalia
b. 1938
Portrait of Jacobus van't Hoff, before 1898.
Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff
1852 - 1911
Portrait of William Walker
William Walker
1869 - 1934
James Watson and Francis Crick
James Watson
1928 - 2025
Harvey Washington Wiley
1844 - 1930
1…4567

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.