Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer, who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the universe. The publication of Copernicus’ model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, just before his death in 1543, was a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making a pioneering contribution to the Scientific Revolution.

German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame as a physicist rests primarily on his role as the originator of quantum theory, which revolutionized human understanding of atomic and subatomic processes.

British chemist who developed protein crystallography, for which she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. She advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography, a method used to determine the three-dimensional structures of molecules. Among her most influential discoveries are the confirmation of the structure of penicillin, and the structure of vitamin B12. In 1969, after 35 years of work, Hodgkin was able to decipher the structure of insulin.

Scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics. His most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism have been called the “second great unification in physics” after the first one realised by Isaac Newton.

One of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Generally considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, and the surface area and volume of a sphere. His other achievements include deriving an accurate approximation of pi, defining and investigating the spiral bearing his name, and creating a system using exponentiation for expressing very large numbers.

German chemist who investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (1860) and rubidium (1861) with physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic chemistry. With his laboratory assistant, Peter Desaga, he developed the Bunsen burner, an improvement on the laboratory burners then in use.

English alchemist, mathematician, physicist, astronomer and theologian who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time, and a key figure in the scientific revolution. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, laid the foundations of classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with Leibnitz for developing the infinitesimal calculus.

Russian chemist and inventor who formulated the Periodic Law, created a farsighted version of the periodic table of elements, used it to correct the properties of some already discovered elements, and predict the properties of eight elements then undiscovered.

An astrophysicist from Northern Ireland who, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967 – one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century.