If one is to discuss the history of science in Europe, one must mention the Greeks. Before the year 0, they create a rich intellectual tradition that is enormously influential for centuries (and even millennia) to come. Said to be ‘the first philosopher’, the ‘father of science’, and the ‘first true mathematician’, the Greek
Thales of Miletus (b. ~624 BC) is particularly noteworthy. Thales is the first known person to whom a mathematical proof has been attributed.
1 The most famous philosophers of this period are
Socrates (b. ~470 BC),
Plato (b. ~428 BC) and
Aristotle (b. 384 BC).
The Greeks are also the first to establish a rigorous discipline of mathematics. Thales, perhaps the first true mathematician, was mentioned above. Further,
Euclid (fl. ~300 BC) is famous for his
Elements, a major mathematical treatise. This is the oldest extant work that engages in a large-scale series of deductive proofs, based on a few select axioms. Before the Ancient Greeks, mathematics was based mainly on rules of thumb rather than rigorous deductive proofs. Arguably the greatest ancient mathematician is
Archimedes (b. ~287 BC), whose mathematical accomplishments are astounding for his time, and who also is notable as a physicist and engineer.
In the health sciences,
Hippocrates (b. ~460 BC) is said to be the ‘father of medicine’ and, born centuries later,
Galen (b. 129 AD) is also one of the most influential people in medicine.
The works of
Cicero (b. 106 BC) are also of note, as more than a thousand years later, his letters help initiate the Renaissance.
The old Greco-Roman civilizations last a long time, and there are of course many more notable people. Others worth mentioning are
Anaximander (b. ~610 BC),
Pythagoras (b. ~570 BC),
Parmenides (b. ~515 BC),
Herodotus (b. ~484 BC),
Democritus (b. ~460 BC),
Thucydides (b. ~460 BC),
Epicurus (b. 341 BC),
Eratosthenes (b. ~276 BC),
Vitruvius (b. 80 BC),
Hero of Alexandria (b. ~10 AD),
Pliny the Elder (b. ~23 AD),
Ptolemy (b. ~100 AD),
Origen (b. ~185 AD),
Plotinus (b. ~204 AD),
Diophantus (b. ~200 AD),
Augustine of Hippo (b. 354 AD), and
Boethius (b. 524 AD).
The fall of the Roman empire after 400 AD brings not only the loss of political territory, but the Greco-Roman dominance in the realms of science and philosophy is also no longer. Boethius has been called the “last of the Roman philosophers and the first of the scholastic theologians,” and it will take some time before Europe sees the likes of Aristotle or Archimedes again.
From roughly 800-1050 AD, Scandinavia is in the era of the vikings. While they are skilled shipbuilders and sailors, and have a
writing system and
poetry, these Norsemen have no intellectual tradition that compares with the Greco-Romans. They do, however, make an impressive discovery. Starting from Scandinavia, vikings sail far across the oceans. First they discover Iceland; later Greenland, which is settled by
Erik the Red (b. ~950 AD); and eventually they manage to reach continental North America. They are the first Europeans to discover this continent, and this feat will not be redone for another half millennium. According to the sagas,
Leif Erikson (b. ~970 AD) is the one who discovers continental North America and establishes the first Norse settlement there.
In the remainder of Europe — that which is not Mediterranean nor Scandinavian — we see the early intellectual seeds growing in places such as the British Isles, France and Germany. While it is fair to say that the scholarship here is in many ways underdeveloped when measured against the extraordinary Greco-Romans, it is a mistake to think of it as intellectually and culturally barren with little but religious superstition. The lives and works of numerous people are a testament to an impressive emerging intellectual tradition. Examples of notable people are
Alcuin of York (b. ~735 AD),
Dungal of Bobbio (fl. 811–828 AD),
Ratramnus (b. ~800AD),
Rudolf of Fulda (b. ~800 AD),
Walafrid Strabo (b. ~808 AD),
Remigius of Auxerre (b. ~841 AD),
John the Exarch (b. ~850 AD),
Æthelweard (b. ~947 AD),
Dudo of Saint-Quentin (b. ~965 AD), and
Berengar of Tours (b. ~998 AD). Arguably, the most notable is the Irish philosopher
John Scotus Eriugena (b. ~800 AD), who has been called the “the most astonishing person of the ninth century.”
2 But the greatest of science has yet to come in Europe, and the next sections will list some of the numerous notable individuals who bring that to fruition.
Years 1000-1120
In 1100 AD much of Spain has been ruled by Muslims for centuries, and notable people such as
Ibn Hazm (b. 994),
Avempace (b. ~1085),
Ibn Zuhr (b. 1094), and
Ibn Tufail (b. 1105) reflect this. Non-Islamic Europe near this period also has its fair share of notable people, including the Byzantine Greek
Michael Psellos (b. ~1018), German chronicler
Adam of Bremen (b. ~1050), the French philosopher
Roscellinus (b. ~1050), English philosopher and translator
Adelard of Bath (b. ~1075), French philosopher
Peter Abelard (b. ~1079), the English historian
William of Malmesbury (b. ~1095), and the Italian scholastic theologian
Peter Lombard (b. ~1096).
In the middle ages much, if not most, scholarship occurs in a religious context. The origin of many medieval universities, the first of which are yet to be established, can also be traced back to Catholic cathedral or monastic schools. Medieval scholars are also more sophisticated than they are often given credit for. For example, contrary to what's often suggested, scholars of this time know that the Earth is not flat. This is revealed in the writings of multiple medieval scholars. For example the historian introduced above, Adam of Bremen, mentions this fact about the Earth in passing as if it's widely understood among learned people.
3
Years 1120-1230
By 1230,
several universities have appeared in Europe, some of which exist to this day. Examples are the universities of Bologna, Paris (closed intermittently due to the French Revolution), Oxford, Salamanca, and Cambridge.
Some notable individuals around this period include the Sephardic philosophers
Maimonides (b. ~1138) and
Nachmanides (b. ~1194), Cambro-Norman historian
Gerald of Wales (b. ~1146), Danish historian
Saxo Grammaticus (b. ~1150), the influential English
Robert Grosseteste (b. ~1168), German friar
Albertus Magnus (b. ~1200), English
Roger Bacon (b. ~1219), and the explorers
Benjamin of Tudela (b. 1130) and
William of Rubruck (b. ~1220). Grosseteste and Bacon are noteworthy for their emphasis on empiricism and are considered by many particularly important for the development of modern science in Europe.
Al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Iberia) continues to have some notable names like
Averroes (b. 1126),
Ibn al-Baytar (b. 1197) and
Ibn al-Nafis (b. 1213). The Italian
Gerard of Cremona (b. ~1114) translates many of the Arabic scientific works into Latin. Islamic intellectuals were greatly influenced by the Ancient Greeks, and the rediscovery of much Ancient Greek scholarship in Europe comes from translations from Arabic (which itself had been translated into Arabic).
North Italy is becoming increasingly influential. Particularly of note is Pisa’s
Fibonacci (b. ~1170), one of the most important medieval mathematicians. Among many other contributions, he helps popularize the
Hindu-Arabic numeral system in Europe. The astronomer and teacher at the University of Paris,
Johannes de Sacrobosco (b. ~1195), also writes a short introduction to the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, and this book becomes the most widely read book on the topic in the following several centuries.
Years 1230-1360
Notability is spread around United Kingdom, France, Germany and, particularly, North Italy.
Notable people include the the French
Vincent of Beauvais (b. ~1184), who worked on an early encyclopedia from 1235 to 1264, a major compendium of contemporary knowledge. Further, the philosopher from Mallorca
Ramon Llull (b. ~1232), the German
Meister Eckhart (b. ~1260), the Scottish philosopher
Duns Scotus (b. ~1265), the English philosopher
William of Ockham (b. ~1285), the French
Nicole Oresme (b. ~1325), the English
John Wycliffe (b. ~1328) are all noteworthy.
Italy continues its great influence with notable individuals such as
Bonaventure (b. 1221),
Thomas Aquinas (b. 1225), and the famous explorer
Marco Polo (b. 1254) from Venice.
Bonaventure, Aquinas, Scotus and Ockham together form the four most important Christian philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. These theologians not only write about religion, but also have considerable influence on secular thought and make important intellectual contributions to the development of science.
Years 1360-1450
Europe is slowly entering the Renaissance phase, marking its transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Many regions in Europe are intellectually active but Italy is clearly still on top, particularly the cities of Florence, Padua and Venice.
Humanism is a dominant theme of Renaissance philosophy with
Leonardo Bruni (b. ~1370),
Poggio Bracciolini (b. 1380),
Nicholas of Cusa (b. 1401),
Lorenzo Valla (b. ~1407), and
Marsilio Ficino (b. 1433), and many others.
Filippo Brunelleschi (b. 1377) is a greatly influential architect and engineer, considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture. Other notable people include
Prince Henry the Navigator (b. 1394), the German mathematician
Regiomontanus (b. 1436), and perhaps most importantly,
Johannes Gutenberg (b. 1394), the inventor of a mechanical printing press, a major milestone accelerating the transmission of intellectual work.
Years 1450-1560
The entire Central and Western Europe light up. By 1500, more than 50 universities have been established throughout the continent in what are presently the countries of Italy, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Albania, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark. The ‘university’ is arguably an exclusively European institution, although other kinds of centers of learning have existed outside Europe (e.g. in China, India and the Islamic world).
Raphael’s The School of Athens, Renaissance painting from 1511, depicts many figures we’ve covered so far
At this point even the most notable people are becoming too numerous to all be mentioned. The single most famous person in this period is the Italian polymath
Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1452). Other noteworthy figures from Italy include
Luca Pacioli (b. ~1447) and
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (b. 1463).
The biggest mathematicians of this period are
Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia (b. ~1499),
Gerolamo Cardano (b. 1501) and
François Viète (b. 1540). They progress mathematics in a number of ways. Historically, mathematical equations and calculations were described verbally, but in this period numerous steps are taken towards a more concise and efficient symbolic algebra.
Astronomy, and empirical science more broadly, make great progress with
Nicolaus Copernicus (b. 1473) and
Tycho Brahe (b. 1546), who both make pioneering contributions to the scientific revolution. Other names here include
Giordano Bruno (b. 1548) and
John Napier (b. 1550).
Important contributions to anatomy and the ‘medical revolution’ are done by
Paracelsus (b. ~1493),
Ambroise Paré (b. ~1510),
Andreas Vesalius (b. 1514), the ‘founder of modern anatomy’, and
Hieronymus Fabricius (b. 1533).
Influential thinkers of other kinds include
Erasmus (b. 1466), considered one of the greatest scholars of the Northern Renaissance, as well as the political philosopher
Niccolò Machiavelli (b. 1469). The religious domain has noteworthy names in
Thomas More (b. 1478),
Martin Luther (b. 1483) and
John Calvin (b. 1509) of ‘Calvinism’.
The
age of exploration is also upon Europe, and alongside Italy’s continued great influence, Spain and Portugal are important in this domain. Italy has
John Cabot (b. ~1450),
Amerigo Vespucci (b. 1451) and the famous
Christopher Columbus (b. 1451). Portugal has
Bartolomeu Dias (b. ~1450),
Vasco da Gama (b. ~1469), and
Pedro Álvares Cabral (b. ~1467), and
Ferdinand Magellan (b. 1480). Spain has
Juan Ponce de León (b. 1474),
Vasco Núñez de Balboa (b. ~1475),
Francisco Pizarro (b. 1478) , and
Hernán Cortés (b. 1485). Relatedly, geography and cartography also makes important progress with notable individuals
Garardus Mercator (b. 1512) and
Abraham Ortelius (b. 1527).
By 1560, the major coasts of America have largely been explored, and the Spanish conquistadors have encountered the Incas and conquered the Aztec Empire. Portuguese explorers have passed the southern tip of Africa, reaching India, and established new important spice trade routes.
Years 1560-1630
Italy is still highly active but no longer dominant. Notability has moved more to the northwest in Europe and four cities in particular light up: London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.
This period has notable philosophers such as
Francis Bacon (b. 1561), the ‘father of empiricism,’
Hugo Grotius (b. 1583), and
Thomas Hobbes (b. 1588). The most influential philosopher and mathematician is probably
René Descartes (b. 1596).
In his later years, the astronomer and mathematician
Christopher Clavius (b. 1538) is one of the most respected astronomers at this time. The most famous and arguably most influential individuals in this discipline, however, are
Galileo Galilei (b. 1564) and
Johannes Kepler (b. 1571).
By 1630, the understanding of astronomy has greatly improved. The increasingly more accurate empirical astronomical measurements, which especially Tycho Brahe was an early pioneer of, make it clear that early models of the solar system are inadequate. Copernicus had forwarded the model of the solar system where plants orbited the Sun in circular paths. Through analyzing the astronomical observations of Tycho, Kepler develops his three laws of planetary motion and establishes that orbits are elliptical rather than circular. The more accurate understanding of orbital paths, alongside Galileo’s discoveries of celestial bodies that do not orbit the Earth, give credence to the correct heliocentric view.
Other noteworthy figures in this period include the polymath
Athanasius Kircher (b. 1602), the seafarer
Abel Tasman (b. 1603), the physicist and mathematician
Evangelista Torricelli (b. 1608), and the French mathematician
Pierre de Fermat (b. 1607). The anatomist and physiologist
William Harvey (b. 1578) makes the most detailed description of the blood circulatory system to date.
Years 1630-1740
Spain has seen a substantial downward trend in notable people from 1500 to 1700. Notability continues to be clustered in Paris and London, and also across the Netherlands and Germany.
Important names in the physical sciences and engineering include
Robert Boyle (b. 1627),
Christiaan Huygens (b. 1629), the military engineer
Sébastien de Vauban (b. 1633), and
Robert Hooke (b. 1635). Astronomy has important names such as
Ole Rømer (b. 1644), the first to measure the speed of light, and
Edmond Halley (b. 1656).
Mathematics and physics undergo tremendous progress.
Isaac Newton (b. 1643) and
Gottfried von Leibniz (b. 1646) independently create what we now call ‘calculus’, essential for mathematically describing many physical phenomena. Newton also establishes classical mechanics with his laws of motion, bringing about a unification of the current understanding of gravity with other observable phenomena in the universe. This also sets heliocentrism on a firm theoretical foundation. These names are already impressive enough, but it doesn’t stop there. The philosopher and mathematician
Blaise Pascal (b. 1623) is highly notable and later comes the birth of
Leonhard Euler (b. 1707), one of history’s most important mathematicians. Other important mathematicians and physicists include the brothers
Jacob (b. 1655) and
Johann Bernoulli (b. 1667), Johann’s son
Daniel Bernoulli (b. 1700), and the French
Émilie du Châtelet (b. 1706) and
Jean d’Alembert (b. 1717).
Important names in the life sciences include ‘the father of microbiology’
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (b. 1632),
Maria Sibylla Merian (b. 1647), the Swedish ‘father of modern taxonomy’
Carl Linnaeus (b. 1707), and
Count Buffon (b. 1707).
Notable philosophers and thinkers in other domains include
John Locke (b. 1632),
Baruch Spinoza (b. 1632),
David Hume (b. 1711),
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (b. 1712),
Adam Smith (b. 1723) and
Immanuel Kant (b. 1724).
Scientists are increasingly engaging in systematization. Individual pieces of knowledge are not only gathered, there is also an attempt to understand them together according to overarching theories or principles. Newton establishing how gravity on earth and planetary orbits together can be understood by one and the same theory is an excellent example of this. Another great example is Carl Linnaeus formalizing
binomial nomenclature and embarking upon the greatest attempt so far of classifying life forms. A compelling theory to understand how all these different life forms have emerged is still required and the central figure here, Darwin, is born circa thirty years after the death of Linnaeus.
Years 1740-1850
The Industrial Revolution is undergoing at full force. The three most important European countries appear to be the United Kingdom, France and Germany, however certainly with plenty of activity outside those countries too.
Possibly the most important component of industrialization is the transition to mechanical manufacturing processes and taking control of electricity. The steam engine by
James Watt (b. 1736) is a great example of this. A particularly notable engineer is
Isambard Brunel (b. 1806) who makes important contributions to technology for bridges, ships, tunnels and railways.
Pioneering work towards understanding and controlling electricity is done by people such as
Alessandro Volta (b. 1745),
André-Marie Ampère (b. 1775),
Hans Christian Ørsted (b. 1777),
Georg Ohm (b. 1789), and
Michael Faraday (b. 1791). This eventually develops into an understanding of the connection between electricity and magnetism — electromagnetism — the second great unification in physics (the first being Newton unifying gravity and the laws of motion). This unification reaches its conclusion when it becomes mathematically described by the equations of
James Maxwell (b. 1831).
Charles Babbage (b. 1791) invents the first mechanical computer. The true potential of mechanical computers and computerized algorithms will of course only be realized more than a century later (with many notable and important people along the way); which is itself a different kind of revolution beyond the industrial one.
Chemistry also progresses greatly in this period. Important names here include
Joseph Priestley (b. 1733),
Antoine Lavoisier (b. 1743), and
John Dalton (b. 1766), the latter whom introduces atomic theory. Additionally,
Amedeo Avogadro (b. 1776),
Humphry Davy (b. 1778), and
Jöns Jacob Berzelius (b. 1779) are notable. Arguably, ‘modern chemistry’ is established in this period.
In mathematics, both pure and applied (e.g. in physics), several important names come to mind:
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (b. 1736),
Pierre-Simon Laplace (b. 1749),
Joseph Fourier (b. 1768),
Augustin-Louis Cauchy (b. 1789),
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (b. 1789),
Niels Abel (b. 1802),
Évariste Galois (b. 1811),
George Boole (b. 1815),
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (b. 1824) and
Bernhard Riemann (b. 1826). The biggest of them all, however, is
Carl Friedrich Gauss (b. 1777). It is sometimes said that, if you want to guess who is responsible for a discovery in mathematics, chances are you’ll be correct if you guess either Gauss or Euler.
In the life sciences, we also have a number of important names. The most obvious being
Charles Darwin (b. 1809), who revolutionizes biology with his theory of natural (and sexual) selection. But many others are worth mentioning.
Edward Jenner (b. 1749) creates the world’s first vaccine (against smallpox).
Alfred Wallace (b. 1823) independently conceives of many similar ideas as Darwin.
Gregor Mendel (b. 1822) makes important discoveries on how heredity works. Other notable people include
Georges Cuvier (b. 1769),
Justus von Liebig (b. 1803),
Louis Pasteur (b. 1822),
Francis Galton (b. 1822),
Thomas Henry Huxley (b. 1825). Pasteur, for example, makes major contributions to the understanding of causes and preventions of diseases. He discovers important principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization.
Despite centuries of global exploration, much of the world remains unexplored by Europeans into the 1800s, particularly land not near any coasts. A number of explorers are worth mentioning, for example
James Cook (b. 1728), famous for his journeys to New Zealand and Australia, and
Mungo Park (b. 1771), the first European person to record travels into the deep interior regions of West Africa.
Numerous influential philosophers exist in this period. These include
Georg Hegel (b. 1770),
Arthur Schopenhauer (b. 1788), the liberal philosophers
Alexis de Tocqueville (b. 1805) and
John Stuart Mill (b. 1806), and the existentialist
Søren Kierkegaard (b. 1813).
Beyond the Industrial Revolution (1850-1950)
Rapid progress in science and technology continues beyond the industrial revolution. First, multiple engineers making important technological contributions are worth mentioning.
Alexander Graham Bell (b. 1847) patents the first practical telephone.
Nikola Tesla (b. 1856) does important work related to electricity.
Guglielmo Marconi (b. 1874) creates a radio wave-based wireless telegraph system and is considered the inventor of the radio.
The building blocks of matter are subject to ever greater investigation, leading to a more accurate understanding of matter at the smallest scale.
J. J. Thomson (b. 1856) discovers the electron, the first
subatomic particle discovered.
Wilhelm Röntgen (b. 1845),
Pierre Curie (b. 1859),
Marie Curie (b. 1867), and
Otto Hahn (b. 1879) conduct pioneering research into the radioactivity, and
Ernest Rutherford (b. 1871) has become known as the ‘father of nuclear physics.’
The most famous scientist is undoubtedly
Albert Einstein (b. 1879), who makes pioneering contributions to quantum mechanics, alongside important figures such as
Planck,
Bohr,
Schrödinger,
Heisenberg,
Born,
Dirac, among others (these influential individuals captured in the famous picture above of the gathering at the fifth Solvay conference in 1927). Einstein, however, is most famous for developing the theory of relativity, ultimately superseding the more than 200 years old framework of classical mechanics of Newton. The understanding of the properties of nature at the scale of (sub)atoms ultimately also leads to one of the most potent discoveries: the atomic (nuclear) bomb.
Enrico Fermi (b. 1901) is also worth mentioning here as the first to create a nuclear reactor.
A few mathematicians are of particular noteworthiness in this period. These are the logician
Gottlob Frege (b. 1848),
Henri Poincaré (b. 1854) and
David Hilbert (b. 1862). Poincaré and Hilbert have both been considered the last mathematicians who excelled in all major fields of the discipline
4. Influential for both mathematical and philosophical reasons, there is also
Bertrand Russell (b. 1872). Theorems established by
Emmy Noether (b. 1882) are of great importance in mathematical physics, and
John von Neumann (b. 1903) makes major contributions to many fields, e.g., in mathematics, physics, computing, and statistics.
There is also growing interest into understanding human and animal behavior, which develops into the social sciences such as psychology, sociology and economics. Francis Galton (mentioned in the previous section) is considered by some the founder of behavioral genetics.
Ivan Pavlov (b. 1849) discovers classical conditioning through his experiments on dogs.
Sigmund Freud (b. 1856) is undoubtedly one of the most famous psychologists (or, in some circles, the most
infamous).
Carl Jung (b. 1875), like Freud, is also famous for his work on psychoanalysis, although Jung develops it in a different direction.
Alfred Binet (b. 1857) establishes the first practical IQ test, and
Jean Piaget (b. 1896) is well known for his research on children’s mental development.
Émile Durkheim (b. 1858) establishes the academic discipline of sociology. In economics,
John Maynard Keynes (b. 1883) and
Friedrich Hayek (b. 1899) are particularly influential.
Statistics as a discipline matures. Galton makes some of the earliest pioneering contributions to statistics.
Karl Pearson (b. 1857), who also works with Galton, is often credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics.
Ronald Fisher (b. 1890) also makes numerous major contributions to statistics and, taking steps further, he combines statistics with genetics which helps establish the fields of quantitative genetics and population genetics; one of the greatest in biology since Darwin. Speaking of biology, in 1953, the (correct) double helix structure of DNA is proposed and published in a paper by
Watson and
Crick.
Important discoveries in biology also help combat disease.
Robert Koch (b. 1843) discovers the causative agents of various deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax.
Alexander Fleming (b. 1881) discovers penicillin, an effective antibiotic.
Several philosophers are also notable. Examples are
Friedrich Nietzsche (b. 1844),
Martin Heidegger (b. 1889) and
Ludwig Wittgenstein (b. 1889). In the context of people of science, the philosopher of science
Karl Popper (b. 1902) is perhaps of extra note. Popper introduces the concept of
falsification, which, in the popular mind, sometimes seems almost synonymous with the scientific method (despite its relatively recent introduction in the history of science).
As we move closer to modern technology, a few names are notable.
Wernher von Braun (b. 1912) is a pioneer of rocket and space technology and in 1969 the first human crew lands on the moon.
Alan Turing (b. 1912) is influential in the development of theoretical computer science as well as cryptography. Computer technology progresses throughout the century in a number of ways. In 1947 the transistor is invented by
John Bardeen (b. 1908),
Walter Brattain (b. 1902) and
William Shockley (b. 1910). In 1957 the first personal computer controlled by one person is invented by IBM. Also in 1957, the optical amplifier is invented; foundational to powering the internet. This marks the transition into a new period, sometimes referred to as The Information Age.
