a French nobleman and chemist who was central to the 18th-century chemical revolution and who had a large influence on both the history of chemistry and the history of biology.

a French astronomer. Despite humble beginnings and being self-taught, he went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time

a French mechanical engineer in the French Army, military scientist and physicist, and often described as the "father of thermodynamics."

a German pathologist and bacteriologist. He is credited with the discovery and development of sulfonamides such as Prontosil

a British chemist and physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases.

an Austrian ophthalmologist who introduced cocaine as a local anaesthetic for eye surgery