19th Century Scientists

Engravings of notable scientists from the 19th century, showcasing portraits that reflect their contributions to various fields of science.

William Cranch Bond (1789-1859), American astronomer born in Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. First director of Harvard University Observatory (1840). He independently discovered the Great Comet of 1811 and was a pioneer of astrophotography. Engraving,

Henry Bessemer (1813-1893) English engineer, inventor and industrialist. Among his inventions were the Bessemer steel process and the Bessemer converter. From 'La Nature' (Paris, 1898). Engraving.

Sir David Brewster, K.G., President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1850. 'The discoveries of Sir David Brewster range from the kaleidoscope to the law of the angle of polarisatioin, the physical laws of metallic reflection, and the optical properties of crystals ; and our philosopher is the author of an immense number of facts and practical applications in every branch of optics. The accompanying Portrait is engraved from a beautifully executed Talbotype, by Messrs. Henneman and Malone, of Regent-street'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.

Ernst Schleiermacher (18 January 1755, 20 April 1844) was a German natural scientist and museum director, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Heinrich Rose (6 August 1795, 27 January 1864) was a German mineralogist, analytical chemist and rediscoverer of the chemical element niobium, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Portrait of Miguel Colmeiro y Penido (Santiago de Compostela 1816 - Madrid 1901) Spanish botanist, member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, Spain. Old XIX century engraved illustration from La Ilustracion Española y Americana 1890

Elisha Mitchell (1793-1857) American naturalist and explorer. Professor of chemistry, mineralogy and geology at the University of North Carolina. In 1835 he established the height of Mt Mitchell, North Carolina. He fell to his death at nearby Mitchell Falls while verifying his earlier measurements. Engraving 1896.

Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander, 22 March 1799, 17 February 1875, a German astronomer. He oversaw the construction of several observatories in Europe, Historical, digital reproduction of an original 19th century model

Henry Bessemer (1813-1893) English engineer, inventor and industrialist. Among his inventions were the Bessemer steel process and the Bessemer converter. Engraving, 1875.

William Cranch Bond (1789-1859), American astronomer born in Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. First director of Harvard University Observatory (1840). He independently discovered the Great Comet of 1811 and was a pioneer of astrophotography. Engraving,

Johann Franz Encke, 23 September 1791, 26 August 1865, was a German astronomer, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original

RICHARD ROBERTS mechanician and engineer, made improvements to textile machinery. Date: 1789 - 1864

Edmond Frémy (1814-1894) was a French chemist. He is perhaps best known today for Frémy's salt, a strong oxidizing agent which he discovered in 1845. Fremy's salt is a long-lived free radical that finds use as a standard in electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1893

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, May 28, 1807 - December 14, 1873, a Swiss-American naturalist / Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, 28. Mai 1807 - 14. Dezember 1873, ein schweizerisch-amerikanischer Naturforscher, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Portrait of Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) was a Swedish German pharmaceutical chemist.Scheele discovered oxygen and identified molybdenum, tungsten, barium, hydrogen, and chlorine, among others. Discovered organic acids tartaric, oxalic, uric, lactic, and citric, as well as hydrofluoric, hydrocyanic, and arsenic acids. Old illustration from La Nature 1887

The late Dr. Normandy, Analytical Chemist, 1864. 'Dr. Normandy soon attained a high position amongst practical chemists, and became well known for his acquirements in the application of their science. In his examination before the Committee of the House of Commons on the Adulteration of Food his evidence was of the most startling character, as it showed the numerous frauds practised on the public by dishonest tradesmen...His latest literary labour was devoted to several contributions to the new edition of Dr. Ure's "Dictionary of the Arts and Manufactures." Dr. Normandy had taken out

John Ball (1818 - 1889); Botanist and Alpine explorer and Fellow of the Royal Society. circa 1880

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, 23 October 1813 - 1848, a German explorer, zoologist, botanist and geologist / Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, 23. Oktober 1813 - 1848, ein deutscher Entdecker, Zoologe, Botaniker und Geologe, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Laplace, vintage engraved illustration. History of France a 1885.

Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851) German physicist. Discovered effect of electric on a magnetic needle. Engraving c1870

Charles Lyell (1797-1875). British lawyer and geologist. Engraving. Universal History, 19th century.

Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887), German physicist -- Kirchhoff's laws in electricity, spectroscopy, thermochemistry.

The Fatal Accident at New Hartley Colliery: Mr. Coulson, Superintendent of the Exploring Party, 1862. The Hartley Colliery disaster was a coal mining accident in Northumberland, England, that occurred on 16 January 1862 and resulted in the deaths of 204 men and children. The beam of the pit's pumping engine broke and fell down the shaft, trapping the men below. The disaster prompted a change in British law that required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.

Peyronnet, vintage engraved illustration. History of France a 1885.

Lewis David von Schweinitz (1780-1834), American Moravian pastor, botanist and mycologist, born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Cuprien Marie Tessie du Motay (1818-1880), French chemist, inventor of the phototype. Engraving, 1873.

Karl Ludwig Hencke (1793-1866) German astonomer. Discovered the asteroids Astraea (1845) and Hebe (1847). Wood engraving.

The late Sir David Brewster, 1868. Engraving from a photograph by Mr. Claudet of 'this eminent philosopher...He passed...the theological classes and took a license as a preacher of the Church of Scotland; but he was more strongly attracted towards the study of science and the observation of natural phenomena...in examining Newton's theory of light he succeeded in discovering an important truth, that of the influence of the condition of the surfaces of bodies on the "inflection" or change of direction of the rays of light, which had been formerly accepted as a consequence oi the natur

Johann Franz Encke, 19th century German astronomer. Artist: Unknown

Auguste Nelaton (17 June 1807) (21 September 1873) was a French surgeon, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown

Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) was a German physician, known for creating an alternative form of medicine called homeopathy. Illustration originally published in a magazine printed in 1880. due to the old age

Coriolis espinousse, Charles-Louis-Alexandre Marquis.

George Stephenson (1781-1848) English mechanical engineer and railway pioneer. Engineer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (1825), he made a survey for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1824) and was appointed engineer to the line 1826. In 1829 he won the Rainhill Trials with his locomotive 'Rocket' which had a tubular boiler. Engraving from 'Das Buch der Erfindungen Gewerbe und Industrien' (Leipzig, 1896-1901).

This 1870s illustration shows James Watt, the Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer. James Watt (1736-1819) was said to have discovered the power of steam when he placed his hand in front of kettle that held a very hot liquid. Watt's improvements to the steam engine were key to the changes that came with the Industrial Revolution.

John Tyndal, 2 August 1820, 4 December 1893, surveyor and naturalist, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown

William Gregory (1803-1858), Scottish chemist. Professor of medicine and chemistry at King's College, Aberdeen, and from 1843 Professor of chemistry at Edinburgh university. Studied under Justus von Liebig at Giessen, Germany, and edited English editions of Liebig's works. From James Sheridan Muspratt 'Chemistry' (London, c1860). Engraving.

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, 6 December 1778, 9 May 1850m a French chemist and physicist, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century or...

John Tyndal, 2. August 1820, 4. Dezember 1893, Vermesser und Naturwissenschaftler, digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19....

Portrait of the toxicologist and chemist Mathieu Orfila, Marie Alexandre Alophe, After Alexandre Collette, 1852 print print maker: Parisafter print by: Parisprinter: Parispublisher: Parispublisher: London paper historical persons

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, geologist (1829-1887) who made Yellowstone known to the public. Engraving 19th century.

John Frederic Daniell (1790-1845) British chemist and meteorolgist.

Charles Bell 1774-1842, Scottish surgeon and anatoma: Neurological discoveries: The Bell paralysis named after him a facial paralysis. Holzstich, historically, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century template, Record Date Not Stated

Asa Gray (1810-1888) American botanist. Specialist on Japanese flora. Friend of Charles Darwin. Accepted Natural Selection as force in evolution but, as devout Protestant, could not accept it was the only cause. Lithograph 1888.

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-1899), German Chemist, From Les Nouvelles Conquetes de la Science, Engraving

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian geographer, naturalist, and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography. Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled extensively in Latin America, exploring and describing it for the first time from a modern scientific point of view. His description of the journey was written up and published in an enormous set of volumes over 21 years. He was one of the first to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined (South America and Africa in particular). Later, his five-volume work, Kosmos (1845), attempted to unify the various branches of scientific knowledge. Humboldt supported and worked with other scientists, including Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac, Justus von Liebig, Louis Agassiz, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Georg von Neumayer, and most

Christian Friedrich Schonbein (1799-1869) German chemist. Began his investigation of ozone in 1839. Worked on nitrocellulose and produced guncotton for use in firearms in 1846. Engraving, (Leipzig, c1898).

Dr, Schönlein, Professor at the University in Zurich, Johann Lukas Schönlein, German doctor, Georg Balder -, lithographic

Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, 1795-1876, a German zoologist, microbiologist, ecologist, geologist and the founder of micropalaeontology and microbiology, Berlin Society for Geography, historical engraving, ca. 1869, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, coloured, exact date unknown

Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) British naturalist and traveller, c1776. c1840. Pennant is sitting by a tree holding a book representing his 'British Zoology', 1766. Engraving after Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) from 'The Naturalist's Library', W Jardine, Edinburgh & London 1839-54.

Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827), French mathematician and astronomer. 1881. His five volume 'Mecanique celeste' 1799-1825 was the greatest work on celestial mechanics since Newton's 'Principia'. From 'A Popular History of Science' by Robert Routledge.

Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau, 1801 - 1883, Belgium-Wallonian physicists and pioneer in photography, historic wood engraving, about 1888

Henri de Ruolz (1808-1887), French composer and chemist. Engraving, 1873.

John Frederic Daniell (1790-1845) English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. Among his inventions were the Daniell cell, a wet storage battery, and a hygrometer. From The Book of Days edited by Robert Chambers (London, 1869). Engraving.

Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, 26 October 1809, 24 April 1864, a German physician, geologist, botanist and surveyor, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

John Frederic Daniell (1790-1845) English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. Among his inventions were the Daniell cell, a wet storage battery, and a hygrometer. From 'The Book of Days' edited by Robert Chambers (London, 1869). Engraving.

Portrait of Jules Auguste Beclard (1817 - 1887) was a French physiologist born in Paris, France. Old illustration from La Nature 1887

William Buckland (1784-1856) British geologist and clergyman. Buckland tried to reconcile the date of the Creation at 4004 BC with new geological discoveries. Buckland in 1844 when he was appointed Dean of Westminster. Wood engraving from 'The Illustrated London News' (London, 22 November 1845).

Carl August von Steinheil (1801-1870), physicist, inventor, engineer and German astronomer. Engraving, 1873.

William Starling Sullivant (1803-1873), American botanist, born in Columbus, Ohio. He specialised in bryology, the study of mosses and liverworts. Copperplate engraving, 1896, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, record date not stated

John Loudon McAdam (1756-1836), Scottish engineer noted for inventing the process of "macadamization" of roads

Elisha Mitchell (1793-1857) American naturalist and explorer. Professor of chemistry, mineralogy and geology at the University of North Carolina. In 1835 he determined the height of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. While checking his earlier measurements, he fell to his death at the nearby Mitchell Falls. Copperplate engraving from 1896, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, record date not stated

Jons Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848), Swedish chemist who introduced modern chemical symbols. Hhe discovered the elements selenium, thorium and cerium, and was first to isolate others. He accurately determined atomic weights, establishing the laws of combination and John Dalton's atomic theory.

Andre-Marie Ampere (1775-1836) French mathematician and physicist who established the relationship of electricity and magnetism. Engraving from 'Les Merveilles de la Science' by Louis Figuier (Paris, c1870).

Michel Adanson (1727-1806), French botanist and naturalist, c1880. Artist: Unknown

John Tyndall FRS (1820-1893) was a prominent 19th century Irish physicist. His scientific fame began with his study of diamagnetism. He made discoveries in the fields of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air, in 1859 he demonstrated the connection between atmospheric CO2 and what is now known as the greenhouse effect. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1893

Caspar Wistar M.D., late professor of anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania.. Prints. 1818. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection. Wistar, Caspar, 1761-1818

David Brewster (1781-1868), Scottish scientist, naturalist, inventor and writer.

Illustration showing Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle (1748 - 1835); French engineer, scientist and pioneer of ballooning.

Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

William Beard (1772-1868), English farmer turned fossil collector from North Somerset. In the 1820s workmen broke through into the Banwell Bone Cave. Between then and about 1840 Beard collected thousands of specimens of fossilised animal bones and his collection is now in the Castle Museum, Taunton, Somerset. He was sponsored by George Henry Law (1761-1845), Bishop of Bath and Wells, who considered the finds to be proof of Noah's Flood. Beard at 57, lithograph from 'Delineations of Somersetshire' by John Rutter (Shaftesbury, 1829).

Karl Ludwig Hencke, 8 April 1793, 21 September 1866, a German amateur astronomer and discoverer of the asteroids Astraea and Hebe, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Edward Spencer (b1799) English lawyer who accompanied the balloonist Charles Green on many ascents. On 24 July 1837 a balloon piloted by Green and Spencer rose from Vauxhall Gardens, London. The painter and amateur scientist Robert Cocking ascended with them to test his new parachute. At 5,000 ft (1,524 m) Cocking left the balloon and began his fatal parachute jump. Lithograph 1839.

Rhigas, vintage engraving. Rhigas, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1861. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10674205

Venceslas Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832) was a French botanist and geologist known for his travels in India. France. Europe. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Portraits et histoire des hommes utile by Societe Montyon et Franklin 1837

Ewald August Koenig, 1844 - 1913, German professor of mining and mineralogy, historical illustration, 1877

James Prescott Joule 24 December 1818, 11 October 1889) was a British brewer who achieved great distinction as a physicist, 1875, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated

Portrait of Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas (1800-1884) a French chemist. Dated 1857.

Rudolph Virchow 1821-1902 German pathologist and founder of cell pathology. He later devoted himself to anthropology and archeology and worked with Schliemann during the excavations in Troy. Engraving from the Illustrated London News London, December 24, 1887., Historically, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century template, Record Date Not Stated

HERVE FAYE French astronomer, member of the Institut. Date: 1814 - 1902

Rudolph Virchow (1821-1902) German pathologist and founder of cell pathology. In later life he turned to anthropology and archaeology and collaborated with Schliemann on the excavations at Troy. Engraving from 'The Illustrated London News' (London, 24 December 1887).

Thomas Thomson (1773-1852) Scottish chemist, born in Creiff, Perthshire, pupil of Joseph Black, became Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1817, published A System of Chemistry (1820), engraving from A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen by the Rev, Thomas Thomson (Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, 1870), Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated

Franz Joseph Gall (1758 - 1828), German neuroanatomist and physiologist

Claude Louis Berthollet (1748-1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804, was the first to demonstrate the bleaching action of chlorine gas and develop a solution of sodium hypochlorite as a modern bleaching agent. France. Europe. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Portraits et histoire des hommes utile by Societe Montyon et Franklin 1837

Alexander Monro, M.D., F.R.S.E., professor of anatomy and surgery in the University of Edinburgh.. Raeburn, Henry, Sir (1756-1823). Prints. 1800. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection

Eben Norton Horsford (1818-1893) on egnraving from 1800s. American scientist. Published by W.Mackenzie.

Charles Darwin (1809-82) English naturalist. Evolution by Natural Selection. Cartoon from 'Vanity Fair', London, September 1871.

Hippolyte Fizeau (1819-1896) French physicist. Measured the velocity of light on the earth's surface (1849). Used Doppler principle to determine velocity of stars in line of sight. Confirmed the wave theory of light. From 'Les Merveilles de la Science', Louis Figuier, (Paris, 1870). Engraving.

Historically, digitally restored reproduction of a template from the 19th century, Record Date Not Stated, Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt * September 14, 1769 in Berlin May 6, 1859, a German research traveler, here in his study

Paul Jablochkoff (1847-1914) Russian telegraph engineer c1883. Jablochkoff invented the Jablochkoff candle, a carbon arc lamp. From 'Les Nouvelles Conquetes de la Science' by Louis Figuier. (Paris, 1883). Engraving.

Portrait of Filippo Pacini (1812-1883), Italian anatomist and pathologist, 1885, lithograph from a drawing by E Sanesi.

Frederic Cuvier (1773~1838) was a celebrated natural historian and scientist, like his famous younger brother Baron Georges Cuvier. Frederic was a member of the Academy of Sciences, and director of the zoo at the Museum of Natural History in Paris from 1804 to 1838. He edited the contributions of many distinguished scientists to the massive 60-volume Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles (1804~1830), and also wrote l'Histoire naturelle des Mammifères (1819~1828) with Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.. Portrait copperplate engraving drawn and engraved by Ambroise Tardieu in 1826 for the "Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles.".

Jacques Babinet, 1794 to 1872. French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. From a 19th century illustration.

Bernhard Cotta. FrontSpiz from: Cotta Bernhard von: The geology of the present. 1867. Dresden: Slub geolog.748.e

August Wilhelm Hofmann (1818-1892), German organic chemist. Through his work on coal-tar derivatives, in 1858 obtained aniline dye magenta or fuschine and in 1863 patented dyes known as Hofmann violets. Appointed director of the Royal College of Chemistry, London, in 1845. From 'Chemistry', James Sheridan Muspratt, (London, 1854-1860). Engraving

Wilhelm Konrad von Rontgen (1845-1913) German physicist. Discovery of X-rays (1895). Awarded first Nobel prize for physics, 1901. Engraving, 1902.

Illustration showing John Tyndall (1820 - 1893), prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air.

ROBERT KOCH (1843-1910). German doctor and bacteriologist. Discoverer of Tuberculosis bacillum and the procedure to cure it. ENGRAVING by Rico. "The Spanish and American Illustration". 1890.

Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) English botanist, plant collector and ornithologist, born near Settle Yorkshire. He worked in America from 1810 to 1842. Copper engraving from 1896, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, record date not stated

Theodor Billroth (1829-94) Austrian surgeon who practiced in Vienna. Pioneer of abdominal surgery; resection of intestine (1881), excision of larynx (1874). Wood engraving from 'Scientific American' (New York, 1885).

Johann Franz Encke, 1791 - 1865, astronomer, portrait, historical illustration, 1880

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