History and People

Who made the first star map? When did people know that the Earth was round? When were sunspots discovered? The links to the right will lead you to biographies of scientists who lived at different times through history. Discover the people who made science history!

<a href="/people/ancient_epoch/eratosthenes.html&edu=high">Eratosthenes</a> was a Greek scientist who lived from 276 to 194 B.C. He studied astronomy, geography, and math. Eratosthenes is famous for making the <a href="/the_universe/uts/eratosthenes_calc_earth_size.html&edu=high">first good measurement of the size of the Earth</a>. This portrait, drawn long after he was dead, shows what the artist thought he might have looked like.<p><small><em>Public domain.</em></small></p>Science educators on a research immersion experience with the <a href="/people/postcards/andrill/andrill_post.html&edu=high">Antarctic Geological Drilling Project (ANDRILL)</a> sent postcards to Windows to the Universe while they were in <a href="/earth/polar/antarctica.html&edu=high">Antarctica</a> from October 2007 until January 2008. The team drilled into <a href="/earth/geology/sed_intro.html&edu=high">sedimentary rocks</a> below the ice of the Ross <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_iceshelf1.html&edu=high">ice shelf</a> to help learn more about the environmental changes that have affected the continent in the past. This image shows what life is like in a field camp on the ice.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Julia Dooley </em></small></p>Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a British <a href="/the_universe/uts/ast_history.html&edu=high">astronomer</a> who was born in 1943. She discovered <a href="/the_universe/NS.html&edu=high">pulsars</a> - <a href="/the_universe/Stars.html&edu=high">stars</a> which emit periodic radio waves - in 1967. Burnell was a graduate student at Cambridge University when she discovered pulsars. Her professor, Antony Hewish, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for her discovery.<p><small><em> The Open University</em></small></p><a href="/people/postcards/vocals/dione_rossiter.html&edu=high">Dione Rossiter</a> is a scientist that participated in a research expedition to understand the climate of the southeastern Pacific in fall, 2008 - the <a href="/vocals/vocals_intro.html&edu=high">VOCALS campaign</a>. She got to fly a her scientific instrument aboard a research aircraft above a layer of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/stratocumulus.html&edu=high">stratocumulus</a> cloud that seemed to go on forever.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Dione Rossiter</em></small></p>Although we humans have never experienced fast <a href="/earth/climate/climate.html&edu=high">global warming</a>, our planet has. And our planet keeps records of what happened. The oldest records that the <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high">Earth</a> keeps are in its <a href="/earth/geology/sed_intro.html&edu=high">rocks</a>. In this image, <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/methane_28may08.html&edu=high">geologists Chris von der Borch and Dave Mrofka</a> collect sediment samples in South Australia. These rocks hold clues to help explain why climate changed abruptly 635 million years ago.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Martin Kennedy, UCR</em></small></p>

Explore History and People

Ancient Epoch (before 700)

Learn more about ancient philosophers and scientists like Archimedes and Eratosthenes. ...Read more

Middle Ages (700-1400)

Learn more about the scientists of the Middle Ages like Fibonacci and several Arabic scientists ...Read more

Renaissance (1400-1650)

The Renaissance was a time of great growth in the arts and sciences. ...Read more

Age of Enlightenment (1650-1850)

The age of enlightenment was an exciting time. Science greats like Darwin, Halley and Herschel ...Read more

Modern Era (1850-1950)

Einstein and Edison, Bohr and Bascom, Hale and Hubble, Roentgen and Rutherford ...Read more

Today's Scientists

Who are the scientists that are making history now? ...Read more

Astronauts

A table of information about the lucky few who have ventured into space ...Read more

The Scientific Process

How does scientific research actually work? How do scientists actually come up with explanations ...Read more

More about History and People

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Do you know what the geocentric theory is and who disproved it?

James Clerk Maxwell developed a system of equations that is fundamental to an area of physics – do you know what equations there are?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Holocene
xHolocene : The past 10,000 years, including most of the time since the end of the most recent ice age.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Unprecedented Warming in East Africa's Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika, the second-oldest and second-deepest lake in the world, could be in for some rough waters. Geologists have determined that the East African rift lake has experienced unprecedented warming...Read more


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