Vasco Da Gama (1460 or 1469 – 1524), the Portuguese explorer, was the first man to sail from Europe around Africa to India. In 1497 he opened the shipping route around the Cape of Good Hope which would become the main spice trade route for centuries. This time was known as the Age of Discovery. On July 8th 1497 Vasco Da Gama’s fleet of four ships sailed forth from Lisbon. They were the Sao Gabriel, the Sao Rafael, the Berrio… (more…)
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1945-1923) was the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Röntgen produced and observed radiation outside of the known electromagnetic spectrum of the time. Born in Lennep, Germany, Röntgen was raised in the Netherlands. He was expelled from school in 1863 for refusing to name the person who had drawn a caricature of a teacher. Finding it difficult to gain admittance to any further education in the Netherlands or Germany, Röntgen finally gained entry… (more…)
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a main founder of microbiology along with Ferdinand Cohn and Robert Koch. Pasteur’s early work in crystallography earned positions first as professor of chemistry Faculté of Strasbourg then in 1954 Dean of the Faculty of Sciences in Lille. Pasteur was made administrator and director of Scientific Studies at the elite college Ecole Normale Supérieure in 1956. Three of his five children died in childhood, leading to his studies of infection and disease. The germ theory of… (more…)
Louis Bleriot (1872-1936) was the French aviation pioneer who completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft. His interest in aviation developed while studying engineering at the Ecole Centrale Paris. Establishing a successful acetylene automobile headlamp business gave Bleriot the income he needed to fund his passion for flying. Early experiments include towing gliders behind a boat and constructing an ornithopter in 1900. The ornithopter was a machine which flapped its wings in a… (more…)
Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was British explorer, navigator and cartographer in the late 18th Century. His explorations of the Pacific Ocean added previously unknown detail to European maps and led to the establishment of Australia as an English colony. Cook undertook three major voyages in his lifetime. Each voyage returned with scientific discoveries of lands, plants, animals and indigenous peoples previously unknown to European society. The three great Pacific voyages Cook’s first voyage, from 1768 to 1771, was commissioned by… (more…)
Hermann Köhl (1888-1938) was the German aviation pioneer who was the first to cross the North Atlantic Ocean in the east-west direction. He joined the army at the age of 19 and was a Lieutenant in the Württembergisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr.13 (Engineer Bataillon) by the beginning of World War I. Suffering an injury to his legs disqualified Köhl from further service in the engineer troops so he volunteered for the German Army Air Service. He was promoted to commander of a… (more…)
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a young graduate when he joined the voyage of the HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy. For five years from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836 he collected fossils and rock samples. The fossils of extinct animals he found lead to his theory of evolution by natural selection. The primary aim of the expedition was a hydrographical survey of the coasts of the southern part of South America. Although he was a paying passenger on… (more…)
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) of Norway was born into a family of ship owners and captains. He was fascinated with polar exploration from an early age and, as a youth, would sleep with his windows open in the Norwegian winter to condition himself. At 21 Amundsen quit university for a life at sea. Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) of the English Royal Navy was inspired by his colleague, Markahm’s, idea for an expedition to the South Pole. He applied to lead… (more…)
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and broke several aviation records throughout her flying career. Born in Atchison, Kansas Earhart was raised unconventionally by her mother, wearing bloomers instead of skirts and playing rough games outdoors. Earhart was home schooled until joining public education at the age of twelve. Moving to Chicago at the age of 17, the future female aviator canvassed the local high schools to find the best science program.… (more…)
Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), a Scottish biologist, specialised in bacteriology and immunology. His discovery of the antibiotic properties of penicillin spawned the pharmaceutical industry and freed mankind of diseases that had previously been fatal. Fleming followed his older brother Tom into the medical profession, enrolling at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington for his education in 1903. Upon qualifying with distinction in 1906 he could have become a surgeon but chose to begin research with Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in vaccine… (more…)