Encyclopedia of World Scientists 2v

869 Pages·2007·10.42 MB·English

by  Elizabeth H. Oakes

Encyclopedia of
world scientists
Revised Edition
ElizabEth h. OakEs
Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition
Copyright © 2007 by Infobase Publishing
This is a revised edition of Encyclopedia of World Scientists
Copyright © 2001 by Infobase Publishing
and International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists
Copyright © 2002 by Infobase Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information
contact:
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New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oakes, Elizabeth H., 1964–
Encyclopedia of world scientists/Elizabeth H. Oakes.—Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6158-7
ISBN-10: 0-8160-6158-0
1. Scientists—Biography—Encyclopedias. I. Title.
Q141.025 2007
509.2'—dc22
[B] 2007006076
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Text design by Erika K. Arroyo
Cover design by Salvatore Luongo
Chronology by Dale Williams
Printed in the United States of America
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
C
ontents
Acknowledgments iv
Introduction v
List of Entries vii
Biographical Essays A–Z 1
Bibliography 803
Entries by Field 805
Entries by Country of Birth 814
Entries by Country of Major Scientific Activity 820
Entries by Year of Birth 827
Chronology 834
A
Cknowledgments
For assistance with photographs and biographical infor- to the authors of the many science reference books I
mation, I thank those scientists who graciously respond- consulted.
ed to my requests and the many libraries and archives Finally, my sincerest thanks to Frank K. Darmstadt,
who helped. I would also like to express my gratitude Executive Editor, Melissa Cullen-DuPont, Assistant Editor,
to the University of Montana Mansfield Library, where and Alana Braithwaite, Editorial Assistant, for their unwav-
much of the research for this book was completed, and ering support and superb guidance throughout the project.
iv
I
ntroduCtIon
Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition is a diverse creation of the Apgar Score System for evaluating the
and comprehensive two-volume collection of biographies health of newborns, the development of the first com-
of scientists. The set includes the fascinating stories of puter languages, and the discovery of the radiocarbon-
nearly 1,000 scientists, from all scientific disciplines, and dating process. While this set brings together an array of
all periods of history, as far back as 600 b.c., who have well-known and lesser-known scientists, providing the
contributed significantly to their fields. Among the nearly basic biographical details of their lives, the focus is on
500 women scientists, you will find those who succeed- their work, with their scientific achievements presented
ed in their work against quite impossible odds. From the in everyday language that makes even the most complex
example of the Greek physician Agnodice—who in the concepts accessible.
fourth century b.c. cut her hair short and dressed as a
man in order to avoid arrest for breaking the law against
The ScienTiSTS
women practicing medicine—to the contemporary exam-
ple of women turned down for jobs and discouraged from Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition, includes the
pursuing their education, the reader can see how women well-known scientific “greats” of history, as well as con-
scientists have often faced formidable obstacles. In this temporary scientists whose work is just verging on great-
set for the first time, these women take their place side ness. Among these are many minority scientists who have
by side with the great male scientists. What they all hold often been excluded from books such as this. A majority
in common is a legacy of achievement that has forever of the scientists in the book represents the traditional sci-
altered our understanding of the world. entific disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, astrono-
Among the firsts in this book, the reader will find: my, and the Earth sciences. A smaller number represent
mathematics, computer science, the philosophy of science,
• the first female physics professor medicine, engineering, anthropology, and psychology. In
• the first scientist to successfully clone an animal addition to the biographical entries, the book contains
• the first female research scientist at General Electric more than 200 evocative black-and-white photographs
Corporation and illustrations.
• the first scientist to explain the theory of continental To compile the entrant list, I relied largely on the
drift judgment of other scientists, consulting established ref-
• the first woman to win a Nobel Prize erence works, such as the Dictionary of Scientific Biography,
• the first woman to head a branch of the U.S. Military, science periodicals, awards lists, and publications from
• and the first scientist to suggest the existence of anti- science organizations and associations. Despite this pro-
matter. cess, I cannot claim to present the “most important” his-
torical and contemporary figures. Time constraints and
The reader will also read about the discovery of the space limitations prevented the inclusion of many deserv-
polio vaccine, the invention of the Diesel engine, the ing scientists.
v
vi ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD SCIENTISTS
The enTrieS provide easy reference to other scientists represent-
ed in the book.
Entries are arranged alphabetically by surname, with each
entry given under the name by which the scientist is most In addition to the alphabetical list of scientists, read-
commonly known. The typical entry provides the follow- ers searching for names of individuals from specific
ing information: countries or scientific disciplines can consult one of the
following indexes found at the end of the book:
Entry Head: Name, birth/death dates, nationality, and
field(s) of specialization. Field of Specialization Index: Groups entrants according
Essay: Essays range in length from 500 to 1,500 to the scientific field(s) in which they worked.
words, with most totaling around 750 words. Each Nationality Index: Organizes entrants by country of
contains basic biographical information—date and birth and/or citizenship.
place of birth, family information, educational Year of Birth Index: Organizes entrants according to the
background, positions held, prizes awarded, etc.— year they were born.
but the greatest attention is given to the scientist’s Subject Index: Lists page references for scientists and
work. Names within the essays set in small capitals scientific terms used in the book.
l e
Ist of ntrIes
Abbe, Cleveland Avery, Oswald Theodore Best, Charles Herbert
Ackerman, Thomas P. Avicenna Bethe, Hans Albrecht
Adamson, Joy Avogadro, Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Bilger, Leonora Neuffer
Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary Carlo Binet, Alfred
Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe Ayrton, Hertha (Phoebe Sarah Binnig, Gerd
Agnesi, Maria Gaetana Marks) Birman, Joan S.
Agnodice Babbage, Charles Bishop, Katharine Scott
Agricola, Georgius Baekeland, Leo Hendrik Blackburn, Elizabeth Helen
Aiken, Howard Hathaway Baeyer, Adolf von Blackwell, Elizabeth
Ajakaiye, Deborah Enilo Bailey, Florence Merriam (Florence Blagg, Mary Adela
Alder, Kurt Augusta Merriam) Bloch, Felix
Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth Baker, Sara Josephine Blodgett, Katharine Burr
Alfvén, Hannes Olof Gösta Banks, Harvey Washington Blum, Lenore Epstein
Allen, Paul Banting, Sir Frederick Grant Boden, Margaret
Altman, Sidney Bárány, Robert Bodley, Rachel Littler
Alvarez, Luis Walter Bari, Nina Karlovna Bohr, Niels Henrik David
Alvariño, Angeles Barney, Ida Boivin, Marie-Anne-Victoire Gallain
Ampère, André-Marie Barton, Clara Bok, Bart Jan
Anastasi, Anne Barton, Derek H. R. Boltzman, Ludwig Eduard
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy Bascom, Florence Bondar, Roberta Lynn
Andersen, Dorothy Hansine Bassi, Laura Maria Catarina Boole, George
Anderson, Carl David Bateson, William Boole, Mary Everest
Anderson, Elda Emma Bechtereva, Natalia Petrovna Bordet, Jules-Jean-Baptiste-Vincent
Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett Becquerel, Antoine-Henri Borlaug, Norman Ernest
Anderson, Gloria Long Bell (Burnell), Susan Jocelyn Born, Max
Anfinsen, Christian Boehmer Bellow, Alexandra Bosch, Carl
Anning, Mary Benedict, Ruth Fulton Bose, Satyendranath
Apgar, Virginia Benerito, Ruth Mary Roan Bothe, Walther Wilhelm Georg
Arber, Agnes Robertson Bennett, Isobel Ida Bovet, Daniel
Archimedes Berg, Paul Bowman, Sir William
Aristarchus of Samos Bergius, Friedrich Boyle, Robert
Aristotle Berkowitz, Joan B. Bozeman, Sylvia
Arrhenius, Svante August Bernard, Claude Brady, St. Elmo
Aston, Francis William Bernoulli, Daniel Brahe, Tycho
Audubon, John James Bernstein, Dorothy Lewis Brandegee, Mary Katharine Layne
Auerbach, Charlotte Bertozzi Andrea (“Kate”)
Avery, Mary Ellen Berzelius, Jöns Jakob Branson, Herman Russell
vii
viii ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD SCIENTISTS
Braun, Emma Lucy Charpak, Georges Daubechies, Ingrid
Braun, Karl Ferdinand Chase, Mary Agnes Meara Davis, Margaret B.
Breckenridge, Mary Chasman, Renate Wiener Davis, Marguerite
Brewster, Sir David Châtelet, Gabrielle-Emilie du Davy, Sir Humphry
Brill, Yvonne Claeys Cherenkov, Pavel Alekseyevich Debye, Peter Joseph William
Britton, Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Chinn, May Edward Delbrück, Max
Broca, Pierre-Paul Cho, Alfred Y. Descartes, René du Perron
Broglie, Louis-Victor-Pierre-Raymond, Chu, Paul Ching-Wu De Vries, Hugo
prince and seventh duc de Clapp, Cornelia M. DeWitt, Lydia Maria Adams
Brongniart, Alexandre Clark, Eugenie Dewitt-Morette, Cécile-Andrée-Paule
Brønsted, Johannes Nicolaus Clark, Josiah Latimer Diacumakos, Elaine
Brooks, Harriet Clarke, Edith Dicciani, Nance K.
Brown, Rachel Fuller Clay-Jolles, Tettje Clasina Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
Browne, Barbara Moulton Claypool, Edith Jane Dicke, Robert Henry
Browne, Marjorie Lee Cleopatra the Alchemist Diels, Otto
Buchner, Eduard Cobb, Jewel Plummer Diesel, Rudolf
Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm Cohen, Stanley H. Diggs, Irene
Burbank, Luther Cohn, Mildred Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice
Burbidge, Eleanor Margaret Peachey Colborn, Theodora Dolan, Louise Ann
Burnet, Sir Frank Macfarlane Colden, Jane Domagk, Gerhard
Burton, Leone Cole, Rebecca J. Doppler, Christian Johann
Butenandt, Adolf Colmenares, Margarita Hortensia Doubleday, Neltje Blanchan De Graff
Buys Ballot, Christoph Hendrik Colwell, Rita Rossi Douglas, Allie Vibert
Diedrik Colwin, Laura North Hunter Dresselhaus, Mildred Spiewak
Caldicott, Helen Comstock, Anna Botsford Dubos, René
Caldwell, Mary Letitia Conway, Lynn Ann Dunham, Katherine Mary
Calvin, Melvin Conwell, Esther Marly Duplaix, Nicole
Cambra, Jessie G. Conybeare, William Daniel Dyer, Helen M.
Campbell-Swinton, Alan Archibald Cooper, Leon Neil Earle, Sylvia Alice
Canady, Alexa I. Copernicus, Nicolaus Eastwood, Alice
Cannizzaro, Stanislao Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz Eccles, Sir John
Cannon, Annie Jump Coriolis, Gustave-Gaspard Eckerson, Sophia Hennion
Cantor, Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Cornforth, John Warcup Eddy, Bernice
Philipp Cousteau, Jacques-Yves Edelman, Gerald M.
Cardús, David Cowings, Patricia Suzanne Edinger, Johanna Gabrielle Ottelie
Carnot, Nicolas-Léonard-Sadi Cox, Geraldine Anne Vang (“Tilly”)
Carothers, E. (Estella) Eleanor Cox, Gertrude Mary Edison, Thomas
Carothers, Wallace Hume Cremer, Erika Edwards, Cecile Hoover
Carr, Emma Perry Crick, Francis Harry Compton Edwards, Helen T.
Carrel, Alexis Crookes, William Egas Moniz, António Caetano de
Carruthers, George R. Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline Abreu Freire
Carson, Benjamin S. Crutzen, Paul J. Ehrenfest-Afanaseva, Tatiana
Carson, Rachel Louise Curie, Marie Sklodowska Ehrlich, Paul
Carver, George Washington Curie, Pierre Eigen, Manfred
Caserio, Marjorie Constance Beckett Cuvier, Georges-Léopold-Chrêtien- Eigenmann, Rosa Smith
Cassini, Giovanni Domenico Frédéric-Dagobert, Baron Einstein, Albert
Cauchy, Augustin-Louis, Baron Daily, Gretchen Einthoven, Willem
Cavendish, Henry Dalton, John Elgood, Cornelia Bonté Sheldon
Celsius, Anders Daly, Marie Maynard Amos
Chadwick, Sir James Dana, James Dwight Elion, Gertrude Belle (“Trudy”)
Chain, Sir Ernst Boris Daniell, John Frederic Emeagwali, Dale Brown
Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan Darden, Christine Emerson, Gladys Anderson
Chang, Min-Chueh Darwin, Charles Robert Enders, John Franklin
Chang, Sun-Young Alice Darwin, Erasmus Erasistratus of Chios
LIST OF ENTRIES ix
Eratosthenes Gaillard, Mary Katharine Harris, Mary Styles
Erlanger, Joseph Galdikas, Biruté M. F. Harrison, Anna Jane
Esaki, Leo Galen Harvey, Ethel Browne
Esau, Katherine Galilei, Galileo Harvey, William
Estrin, Thelma Gamow, George Harwood, Margaret
Euclid Gardner, Julia Anna Hassel, Odd
Euler, Leonhard Garmany, Catharine Doremus Hawes, Harriet Ann Boyd
Evans, Alice Catherine Gasser, Herbert Spencer Hawking, Stephen William
Ewing, William Maurice Gauss, Karl Friedrich Haworth, Walter
Faber, Sandra Moore Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel Geller, Margaret Joan Hay, Louise Schmir
Falconer, Etta Zuber Germain, Marie-Sophie Hazen, Elizabeth Lee
Faraday, Michael Giblett, Eloise Rosalie Hazlett, Olive Clio
Farquhar, Marilyn Gist Gilbert, Grove Karl Healy, Bernadine
Farr, Wanda K. Gilbert, Walter Heezen, Bruce C.
Fawcett, Stella Grace Maisie Gilbreth, Lillian Evelyn Moller Heisenberg, Werner Karl
Federoff, Nina V. Giliani, Alessandra Heloise
Fell, Honor Bridget Glashow, Sheldon Lee Herophilus of Chalcedon
Fenselau, Catherine Clarke Gleditsch, Ellen Herrad of Landsberg
Ferguson, Margaret Clay Glusker, Jenny Pickworth Herschel, Caroline Lucretia
Fermi, Enrico Goddard, Robert Hutchings Herschel, Sir John Frederick William
Feynman, Richard Philip Goldberg, Adele Herschel, Sir William
Fibonacci, Leonardo Pisano Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff Hershey, Alfred Day
Fieser, Mary Peters Goldhaber, Sulamith Hertz, Gustav
Fischer, Emil Hermann Golgi, Camillo Hertz, Heinrich Rudolf
Fischer, Ernst Otto Good, Mary Lowe Herzberg, Gerhard
Fischer, Hans Goodall, Jane Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart Little
Fisher, Elizabeth F. Goodenough, Florence Laura Hess, Victor Francis Franz
Fleming, Sir Alexander Gould, Stephen Jay Hess, Walter Rudolf
Fleming, Williamina Paton Stevens Gourdine, Meredith Charles Hewish, Antony
Florey, Howard Walter Graham, Thomas Hewitt, Jacqueline N.
Flory, Paul Granville, Evelyn Boyd Heyrovský, Jaroslav
Flourens, Pierre Grasselli Brown, Jeanette G. Hibbard, Hope
Flügge-Lotz, Irmgard Green, Arda Alden Hildegard of Bingen
Foot, Katharine Grignard, François-Auguste-Victor Hill, Sir Archibald Vivian
Forrester, Jay Grimaldi, Francesco Maria Hill, Dorothy
Fossey, Dian Gross, Carol A. Hill, Henry Aaron
Foucault, Jean-Bernard-Léon Guillaume, Charles-Édouard Hinshelwood, Cyril
Fowler, William Alfred Gullstrand, Allvar Hipparchus
Franck, James Gurdon, John Bertrand Hippocrates of Cos
Frank, Ilya Mikhailovich Guthrie, Mary Jane Hobby, Gladys Lounsbury
Franklin, Benjamin Gutierrez, Orlando A. Hodgkin, Alan Lloyd
Franklin, Rosalind Elsie Haber, Fritz Hodgkin, Dorothy Crowfoot
Fraunhofer, Joseph von Hadley, George Hoffleit, Ellen Dorrit
Free, Helen Murray Hahn, Dorothy Anna Hoffmann, Roald
Freedman, Wendy Laurel Hahn, Otto Hogg, Helen Battles Sawyer
Freud, Sigmund Hale, George Ellery Hollerith, Herman
Friedel, Charles Hall, James Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
Friend, Charlotte Hall, Lloyd Augustus Holmes, Arthur
Frith, Uta Auernhammer Halley, Edmond Hoobler, Icie Gertrude Macy
Fukui, Kenichi Hamerstrom, Frances Hopkins, Donald
Gabor, Dennis Hamilton, Alice Hopper, Grace Brewster Murray
Gadgil, Sulochana Harden, Arthur Horney, Karen Danielsen
Gage, Susanna Phelps Hardy, Harriet Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent