Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists - page 23

Physicists are the scientists who study the field of physics in great detail. They conduct research into physical phenomena or the natural science that involve the study of matter and related concepts. They analyze the general happenings in nature and try to understand how the universe behaves. On the basis of research through observation and experiments, they discover physical laws and propound theories that explain the functioning of natural forces like gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear interactions. The discovery of new physical laws and theories contribute to the existing base of theoretical knowledge and can also be used for more practical applications such as development of medial equipment, electronic devices, nuclear reactors, etc. During the earlier days, physics was considered a field of philosophy; it was only during the 19th century that physics was realized as a discipline separate from philosophy. Some of the major branches of physics are classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, theory of relativity and electromagnetism. Since physics covers a vast number of fields, most physicists specialize in one of the many subfields. However, the various subfields may overlap with each other and also with other sciences resulting in interdisciplinary fields such as biophysics, geophysics, meteorology, etc. Browse through this section to explore the biographies, life and works of various famous physicists from all over the world.

The Most Famous Physicists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Henry CavendishOctober 10, 1731BritishHenry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth
Walter KohnMarch 9, 1923AustrianNobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist
Isaac NewtonJanuary 4, 1643BritishIsaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics
Ernst RuskaDecember 25, 1906GermanErnst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope
Amedeo AvogadroAugust 9, 1776ItalianAmedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formulated what is now known as Avogadro's law
Paul DiracAugust 8, 1902BritishPaul Dirac was an English theoretical physicist known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics
Nikola TeslaJuly 10, 1856AmericanNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems
Franklin Chang DíazApril 5, 1950Chinese, Costa Rican, AmericanFranklin Chang-Diaz is an American-Costa Rican physicist and former NASA astronaut
Richard FeynmanMay 11, 1918AmericanRichard Feynman was a Nobel Prize winning American physicist who proposed the theory of quantum electrodynamics
J. J. ThomsonDecember 18, 1856BritishJ.J
Edward Victor Appleton

Edward Victor Appleton

Sir Edward Victor Appleton was an English physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1947

Annie Jump Cannon

Annie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer and physicist

AmericanDecember 11, 1863167 views

Albert A. Michelson

Albert Abraham Michelson was the first American scientist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on finding the speed of light

AmericanDecember 19, 1852161 views

Thomas Kuhn

Thomas Kuhn was a philosopher of science who changed the way the world perceived and envisioned science

AmericanJuly 18, 1922214 views

Owen Chamberlain

Owen Chamberlain was a renowned American physicist

AmericanJuly 10, 1920149 views

Ibn-al-Haytham

Ibn-al-Haytham was an illustrious Arab Muslim scientist, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer

IraqiJuly 1, 965137 views

Count Alessandro Volta

Famous physicist Count Alessandro Volta is credited with the invention of electric battery

ItalianFebruary 18, 1745218 views

Charles Augustin De Coulomb

Charles Coulomb was the French physicist who developed Coulomb’s law

FrenchJune 14, 1736239 views

Augustin-Jean Fresnel

Augustine-Jean Fresnel was a French physicist and engineer who made valuable contribution in the field of wave optics

FrenchMay 10, 1788150 views

Robert Andrews Millikan

Robert Andrews Millikan was an eminent American experimental physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for his work on photoelectric effect

AmericanMarch 22, 1868275 views