Having been born in 384 BC, Aristotle lived and learnt from his mentors like Plato and Socrates. Aristotle lived and did his scholarly works in the ancient Greek empire. His life was characterized with riotous living and trouble. He at one time became a soldier but was later dropped because of misunderstanding. He later ventured into selling drugs but later transformed into constructive living after he was called to work in a court in a very senior position. Aristotle’s views on social science were of great impact on the modern sciences. His main article was the classical element in which he gave his views that the earth had four major elements which include the air, water, aether, earth and fire. He observed that in all these things the earth was at the centre.
2. LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-1895)
Pasteur was born in the year 1822 in the Roman Empire region. He schooled during those early days and then ventured into research and discoveries in the area of biological sciences. He is credited to have brought up solutions in the world mysteries as rabies, anthrax, silk worm and chicken cholera. Pasteur studied much on germs, viruses and their reactions and as a result came up with the current milk processing system called pasteurization, a name which was given after his name.
3. GREGOR MENDEL (1822-1884)
Gregory Johann Mendel was born in Austria in the year 1822. Mendel was the only son to his peasant father. Mendel began his studies in St. Thomas Monastery and from this was ordained a priest in the year 1847. He served as a priest for some time but later realized that his calling was in the area of teaching and hence was posted to a secondary school. It is ironical that he later sat for a teachers exam but failed after which he went back to college. Mendel made great contribution in the areas of genetics and his research led to the introduction of seven basic characteristics of pea pod plants. He used the research tools that he learnt from university of Vienna. His contributions led to the discovery of particulate inheritance, dominant and recessive genes.
4. ERNST MAYR (1904-2005)
Ernst Mayr was born in the town of Kempten, in Germany Bavaria in 1904. He came from a family in which many people were doctors but he choose to deviate to the area of zoology from where he made great contributions. He is the originator of many words in biology like ecology and ornithology. He will be remembered for advancing the famous biogenetic law which gave a breakdown of how embryo develops in organisms and the chromosome back up on the same.
5. E.O. WILSON (1929- ) (EDWARD O. WILSON)
Edward Osborne is an American biologist who was born in the year 1929 in Alabama. Edward experienced an accident which would have killed his vision but on the contrary, this great scholar of his time emerges with great zeal to create new theories in the evolution. He started his pursuits in the field of insects while still in his tender age. He first studied in Alabama University and later Harvard. He later graduated with PhD from Harvard University in 1955 in which his work was based on taxonomy and ecology of insects. Besides inventions in insect ecology, he was also a naturalist and a sociobiologist.
Source
- Compton’s (2007) Ancient scientists in science. Britannica encyclopedia