Handbook of World Great Scientists

Contents: Preface. 1. Albert Abraham Michelson in the revolution of physics. 2. Aristotle: great scientist of the world. 3. Benjamin Franklin and his science research. 4. Edwin Powell Hubble. 5. Einstein\'s quantum theory and relativity. 6. Galileo Galilei and science practicals. 7. George Simon Ohm and his law. 8. J.J. Thomson and discovery of electron. 9. James Watt and thermodynamics. 10. Mathew Fontaine Maury and science of sea. 11. Michael Faraday and electric power. 12. Othniel Charles Marsh. 13. Roger Bacon and his research. 14. Sir Humphry Davy. 15. Thomas Cooper and his research. 16. Thomas Say and industrial revolution. 17. William Gilbert: founder of experimental science. 18. William T.G. Morton and medical science. Bibliography. Index.

"The set of scientists included in our sample is not necessarily representative of any sociological category. We searched out people who had completed or nearly completed their careers. We believed that such lives would contain a richer stock of information, and more personal insights into the characteristics of a career in research, than would the lives of those earlier in their careers. However, we realized that so much had changed during the twentieth century that we needed to include younger scientists to illustrate more accurately the conditions that prevail today, as well as to show what a scientific career in the upcoming century might entail." (jacket)