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Meet the people who changed our world.
Discover the scientists, inventors and thinkers behind the ideas that shape our lives — from the discovery of radioactivity to the first steps on the Moon.
Scientist of the Day
October 25th
Frederic C. Williams
Electrical Engineer
A British electrical engineer who co-developed the Williams-Kilburn tube, an early electronic memory, and led the team that built the first stored-program computer.
On This Day in Science
October 25th
No science events recorded for today yet. Check back as we expand our calendar!
Explore by Subject
From the smallest atom to the farthest galaxy — find the people who unlocked each field of science.
Featured Super Scientists
Some of the most remarkable minds in human history.
Alfred Nobel
1833–1896 · Chemist and Inventor
Invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prizes, the world’s most famous awards for scientific and cultural achievement.
Gilbert Newton Lewis
1875–1946 · Chemical bonding, thermodynamics and acids and bases
Gilbert N. Lewis developed the electron-pair model of covalent bonding and Lewis structures, transforming how chemists explain atoms sharing electrons.
Esther Miriam Lederberg
1922–2006 · Microbial genetics
Esther Miriam Lederberg discovered bacteriophage lambda, a virus that can remain dormant in bacterial DNA, and jointly developed replica plating with Joshua Lederberg. She also contributed to research on the F factor involved in bacterial gene transfer.
Thomas Young
1773–1829 · Wave optics, vision and elasticity
Thomas Young explained the interference of light using wave ideas, advanced the study of colour vision, and gave his name to a measure of material stiffness.
John Snow
1813–1858 · Physician
Tracing the 1854 Soho cholera outbreak to contaminated water from the Broad Street pump and providing powerful evidence for the waterborne transmission of cholera.
Theodor Schwann
1810–1882 · Cell theory, physiology and digestion
Theodor Schwann extended cell theory to animals, studied pepsin and yeast fermentation, and helped explain the shared cellular structure of living things.
Amazing Discoveries
In-depth stories behind the world's greatest scientific breakthroughs.
The War of the Currents
Before electricity became something people simply expected from a wall socket, two incompatible systems competed to power America. The argument involved engineering, money, public fear and three men whose roles are still regularly confused.
The Quantum Revolution
Physics had been spectacularly successful at explaining the everyday world. Then experiments with light and atoms began producing results that the old rules could not handle. What followed was one of the strangest and most successful revolutions in science.
The Double Helix
The race to uncover DNA's structure brought together brilliant experiments, model-building, fierce competition and a dispute over credit that still shapes how the discovery is remembered.
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