Historical Figures in Science

Engravings of notable scientists from history, showcasing their likeness in classic attire, reflecting the era of their contributions to science.

ADAM SEDGWICK Geologist Date: 1785 - 1873

'Jacques Alexandre Cesar Charles (1746-1823) French scientist, mathematician and balloonist. Pioneered use of Hydrogen in ballooning. Professor of physcis at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers.'

Carl Heinrich Merck, 1761-1799, a German physician and participant in a multi-year expedition through Siberia and Alaska, historical engraving, circa 1869

Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (1753 1814) American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics. He served as lieutenant-colonel of the King's American Dragoons, part of the British Loyalist forces, during the American Revolutionary War.

Historic drawing, portrait of James Watt, 1736 - 1819, Scottish inventor of the steam engine

Thomas Young (1773-1829) English physicist and Egyptologist. Undulatory (wave) theory of light. Deciphering of Rosetta Stone. Engraving

Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, William Herschel, 15 November 1738, 25 August 1822, a German-British astronomer, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

William Smith (1769-1839) English geologist founder of stratigraphical geology. His insight into geological strata was gained while he was working as a canal surveyor. From 'Life of Sir Roderick I. Murchison' by Archibald Geikie (London, 1875). Engraving

ADAM SEDGWICK Geologist Date: 1785 - 1873

Tito-Livio Zambeccari (1802-1862), italian scientist and naturalist. Engraving, 1873.

Samuel Hahnemann 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. The image is currently in public domain due to the old age. Copyright: xZoonar.com/J.xSandvikx 2471877

JUAN BTA LAMARCK (1744-1829) - BIOLOGIST AND ZOOLOGIST. THE 1st THEORY OF EVOLUTION. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 7 March 1792, 11 May 1871, a British astronomer, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871); British geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American scientist, statesman and diplomat. In this picture his studies of the electrical nature of lightning are represented. Engraving

JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LUSSAC French scientist Date: 1778 - 1850

Michel Eugene Chevreul (1786 - 1889) French chemist

Antoine-Laurent Jussieu (1748-1836), French botanist born in Lyon .Nephew of the botanist Bernard de Jussieu. He studied medicine and graduated in 1770. He was professor of botany at the Jardin des Plantes from 1770-1826 and his classification of many of the the plant families is still used. From 'The Vegetable World', by Louis Figuier. (London, c1880). Engraving.

Portrait of the brain researcher and doctor Franz Joseph Gall, Zéphirin Félix Jean Marius Belliard, 1834 print Paris paper historical persons

Patrick Bell (1799-1869) Scottish clergyman; inventor of mechanical reaper (c1827) which Cyrus McCormick perfected. Wood engraving 1868

John Taylor, mining engineer and geologist. Lithograph after T. Lawrence.

François Magendie, 1783 - 1855. French physiologist, and pioneer of experimental physiology. From Selected Readings in the History of Physiology, published 1930.

Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873) was one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Devonian period of the geological timescale. Later, he proposed the Cambrian period, based on work which he did on Welsh rock strata. Illustration from an english magazine printed in 1864

Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) English physician and poet. Member of the lunar society. Grandfather of Charles Darwin and Francis Galton

Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle (1748-1835), French aeronautical physicist. Engraving, 1873.

Francesc Aragó (Estagell, Rosselló, 1786-París, 1853). Científico que destacó por su actividad de investigación en la astronomía, física, mecánica, óptica, electricidad, magnetismo, meteorología y geografía. Ministro de la segunda república francesa y co-príncipe de Andorra. Grabado de 1857.

James Young Simpson (1811-1870), obstetricista escocés. Grabado de 1873.

Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), the German founder of homeopathy, published his medical theories in his treatise, THE ORGANON OF RATIONAL HEALING, 1810.

Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811) English astronomer. Astronomer Royal 1765-1811. 1804. Fellow of the Royal Society, 1758. Established 'Natical Almanack', 1766. In background is Flamsteed House, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. From 'The European Magazine' (London, 1804).

James Watt, Scottish engineer and inventor. Watt (1736-1819) made great improvements in the steam engine, one of the most significant being the separate condenser. In 1774 he went into partnership with Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) the Birmingham manufacturer and entrepreneur. From 'A Popular History of Science' by Robert Routledge. (London, 1881). Engraving.

Illustration showing Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743 - 1794), French nobleman and chemist who was central to the 18th-century chemical revolution and who had a large influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology. He is widely considered in popular literature as the father of modern chemistry

William Brodum, a medical practitioner and medicine vendor. Stipple engraving by E.A. Ezekiel after G. Barry.

Charles Bell (1774-1842) Scottish surgeon and anatomist; neurological discoveries; Bell's Palsy (a facial paralysis) named after him. Wood engraving

Dominik Waidele 1771-1830 Professor of Surgery in Olmütz, historically, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century template, Record Date Not Stated

John Scott Russell (1808 1882) Scottish civil engineer, naval architect and shipbuilder who built the Great Eastern in collaboration with Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He made the discovery of the wave of translation that gave birth to the modern study of solitons, and developed the wave-line system of ship construction.

AUGUSTE FRANCOIS CHOMEL French medical, pathologist at Paris. Date: 1789 - 1858

Justus Freiherr von Liebig, 1803 to 1873, German chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, considered the founder of organic chemistry, Germany, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of an original 19th century master copy, exact original date not known, Europe

JOHN BIRD Astronomer and scientific instrument maker Date: 1709 - 1776

Jean Chappe dAuteroche, 23. März 1728, 1. August 1769, war ein französischer Astronom, Historisch, digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus de...

William Herschel (1738-1822) German-born English astronomer, shown holding a diagram of Uranus and its satellites. Uranus was the first planet discovered since ancient times. Engraving after pastel by John Russell.

Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault, February 2, 1802 - May 11, 1887, French chemist and agronomist / Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault, 2. Februar 1802 - 11. Mai 1887, französischer Chemiker und Agrarwissenschaftler, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Giannalfonso Borelli (1608-1679), Italian medical, mathematician physiologist

Heinrich Rose (1795-1864), German mineralogist and analytical chemist. Professor of chemistry at Berlin university from 1823. From James Sheridan Muspratt 'Chemistry' (London, c1860). Engraving.

John Dalton (1766-1844) British chemist, born near Cockermouth, Cumbria. In 1794 he described colour blindness (Daltonism) from which both he and his brother suffered. He also proposed an atomic theory and studied gases. As a Quaker he was unable to attend an English university. He supported himself as a schoolmaster and tutor. Engraving after a Daguerreotype.

Johann Matthäus Bechstein, July 1757 - 23 February 1822, was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist, entomologist, and herpetologist / Johann Matthäus Bechstein, 11. Juli 1757 - 23. Februar 1822, war ein deutscher Naturforscher, Forstwissenschaftler und Ornithologe, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Gideon Algernon Mantell (1790-1852) English geologist who, in 1820, discovered the Iguanodon and deduced from its teeth that it was a herbivore, not a carnivore like previously known dinosaurs. Engraving published at time of his death in 1852

Professor JAMES SPENCE surgeon Date: 1812 - 1882

Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872), American Artist and Inventor of the Telegraph, From The Science Record (New York, 1873), Wood engraving

John Dalton (1766-1844) English chemist. In 1794 described colour blindness (Daltonism) from which both he and his brother suffered. Wood engraving

Francois Le Vaillant (1753-1824) French explorer, collector and ornithologist. He did not accept the new Linnaen nomenclature and it was left to others to assign binomial classification to the thousands of specimens he collected. From The Naturalist's Library edited by William Jardine (Edinburgh and London 1839-1854). Engraving.

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-88) French naturalist; author of the 44 volume 'Histoire Naturelle' 1749-67. Eighteenth century engraving.

Sir Robert Christison, Bart., M.D., Edinburgh, 1871. 'Dr. Robert Christison, Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Edinburgh, and Ordinary Physician to her Majesty in Scotland,...has been honoured with a baronetcy in recognition of his long services to medical science...Dr. Christison has been a large contributor to medical publications, including both professional journals and also independent works, and his "Treatise on Poisons" is an acknowledged standard work on the subject...It will be remembered that he was called upon as a toxicologist to give evidence at the trial

Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach, 8 January 1793, 17 March 1879, was a Saxon, German natural scientist, zoologist and botanist, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872), American artist and inventor. Inventor of the first functional electric telegraph , 1835 and, with Alexander Bain (1810-1977), of the Morse code. From 'The Science Record' (New York, 1873). Wood engraving.

Reverend Thomas Martyn, BD FRS, botanist, Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, 1735-1825. Engraving by Giovanni Vendramini after a portrait by John Russell, RA, portrait painter to their majesties. Handcoloured copperplate stipple engraving from Dr. Robert John Thorntons New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus, the Temple of Flora, London, 1799.

WILLIAM YARRELL zoologist Date: 1784 - 1856

Erasmus Darwin, (1731-1802), naturalist and botanist. Illustration of his 'The Loves of the Plants', from a print published by Thornton in 1803

litho de Berdalle., Head-and-shoulders portrait of Francois Chaussier, who conducted some of the first experiments to develop navigational systems for balloons.

S. SECHTER, Viennese theoretician, engraving

Edmund Halley, 1656 to 1742, English astronomer and mathematician, Illustration from Old England's Worthies, published around 1880, Historical, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated

The Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne, English astronomer. Artist: Unknown

Historical drawing from the 19th Century, portrait of Friedrich Wilhelm or William Herschel, 1738 - 1822, a German-British astronomer and musician

ANTOINE-CESAR BEQUEREL French physicist Date: 1788 - 1878

Jean Baptiste Dumas (1814-1884) French chemist. From James Sheridan Muspratt 'Chemistry' (London, c1860). Engraving.

Jules Robert Mayer, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Justus von Liebig (1803-73), German Chemist, Considered the Founder of Organic Chemistry, Portrait

Portrait of Mr. Flights. Edma Queenedey (1756-1830). "Portrait of Mr. Flights". Physionotrace. 1786-1830.

Joh, Natterer, Johann Natterer, scientist, Michael Sandler -, lithograph

Thomas Thomson (1773-1852) Scottish chemist, born at Creiff, Perthshire. A disciple of Joseph Black, he became professor of chemistry at Glasgow University 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).

Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius, 3 February 1786, 23 October 1842, a German theologian, scholar of the cultures and history of the Middle East and one of the most important scholars and researchers of the Semitic languages, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel,; 22 July 1784 - 17 March 1846, German astronomer, mathematician, physicist and geodesist / Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, 22. Juli 1784 - 17. März 1846, ein richtungsweisender deutscher Wissenschaftler, dessen Tätigkeit sich auf die Gebiete Astronomie, Mathematik, Geodäsie und Physik erstreckte, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, 1 July 1742, 24 February 1799, a physicist, naturalist, mathematician, writer and the first German professor of experimental physics in the Age of Enlightenment, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

(Jean) Louis (Rodolphe) Agassiz (1807-1873) Swiss-born American naturalist and glaciologist. Engraving published 1883

SIR CHARLES WHEATSTONE physicist and inventor, instrumental in the electric telegraph Date: 1802 - 1875

Sir James Young Simpson (1811 - 1870) - Scottish physician, first to use ether as an anaesthetic.

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

Daniel Rutherford, MD, FLS, physician and botanist, Professor of Botany at the University of Edinburgh, 1749-1819. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by William Holl after a portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn from Dr. Robert John Thorntons New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus, the Temple of Flora, London, 1804.

Otto Eduard Vincenz Ule, 1820, 1876, was a German writer, known for his popularisation of the natural sciences, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date not known

'Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and major figure in the ScientificRevolution. His use of the telescope for astronomical observation supported the heliocentric system.'

Benjamin Silliman (1779-1864), was professor of science at Yale University, and the first to distill petroleum, separating crude oil into various substances including oils, kerosene, gasoline.

Volta builds the electric motor or electric battery in December 1799

Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) French naturalist and zoologist. Established study of compartive anatomy, supported catastrophism in geology. Lithograph, Pris, c1840.

Johann Heinrich Schulze (1687-1744) Professor anatomy at Altdorf. Important in the history of photography because in 1725 he noticed the darkening of silver nitrate when exposed to light. From 'Icones Virorum' by Friedrich Roth-Scholtz (Nuremberg, 1725)

James Cook, 7 November 1728, 14 hemeroplanes triptolemus (1779), an English navigator, cartographer and explorer, Historic, digitally restored reprodu...

Oval portrait of Reverend Dr. Stephen Hales, FRS, natural philosopher, botanist, chemist and inventor, author of Vegetable Staticks, 1677-1761. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by William Hopwood after a portrait by Thomas Hudson, RA, from Dr. Robert John Thorntons New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus, the Temple of Flora, London, 1800.

Erasmus Darwin, M.D., 1880, New York, Engravings

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

John Harrison (1693-1776) English clockmaker. On the table at his elbow is his No 4 chronometer with which he won the prize for solving the problem of finding longitude at sea. Engraving.

James Cook, 7 November 1728, 14 hemeroplanes triptolemus (1779), an English navigator, cartographer and explorer, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact date not known

THE LATE PROFESSOR PHILLIPS, GEOLOGIST, 1874

Pierre Joseph Desault (1744-1795) Illustrious French anatomist and surgeon of the late 18th century. He was a physician to the son of Louis XVI of France during his imprisonment in the Tour du Temple prison during the French Revolution. Marie François Xavier Bichat (1771-1802) better known as Xavier Bichat, was a French biologist, anatomist and physiologist. France. Europe. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Portraits et histoire des hommes utile by Societe Montyon et Franklin 1837

William Fairbairn (1789-1874), Scottish civil and naval engineer. Engraving, 1873.

Herman Boerhaave, 31 December 1668 - 23 September 1738, Dutch botanist, chemist, Christian humanist, and physician of European fame / Herman Boerhaave, Boerhaven, 31. Dezember 1668 - 23. September 1738, niederländischer Mediziner, Chemiker und Botaniker, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Friedrich Woehler, 31 July 1800, 23 September 1882, German chemist

Andrew Ure (1778-1857), Scottish chemist and scientific writer born in Glasgow. His 'Dictionary of Chemistry' appeared in 1821. He also wrote on manufactures and industrial processes. From James Sheridan Muspratt 'Chemistry' (London, c1860). Engraving.

John Mayow FRS (16411679) was a chemist, physician, and physiologist who is remembered today for conducting early research into respiration and the nature of air. Mayow worked in a field that is sometimes called pneumatic chemistry.

Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) Dutch physician, humanist, botanist and chemist, born near Leiden. Founder of the clinical teaching of medicine. Engraving from 'Histoire des Philosophes Modernes' by Alexandre Saverien (Paris, 1762).

Miguel Colmeiro Penido (1816-1901). Spanish botanist. Engraving by Arturo Carretero. The Spanish and American Illustration, 1880. Colored.

Friedrich Wöhler, 31. Juli 1800 - 23. September 1882, war ein deutscher Chemiker / Friedrich Wöhler, July 31, 1800 - September 23, 1882, was a German chemist, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, genaues Originaldatum nicht bekannt.

Pierre Joseph Desault (1744-1795) Illustrious French anatomist and surgeon of the late 18th century. He was a physician to the son of Louis XVI of France during his imprisonment in the Tour du Temple prison during the French Revolution. Marie François Xavier Bichat (1771-1802) better known as Xavier Bichat, was a French biologist, anatomist and physiologist. France. Europe. Old 19th century engraved illustration from Portraits et histoire des hommes utile by Societe Montyon et Franklin 1837

Trousseau, Armand (1801-1867), French physician specialized in clinical and therapeutic medicine. Engraving, 1867.

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