Famous geniuses in world history

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Famous geniuses in world history

Genius takes many forms, but everyone on this incomplete list has had an influence on the world we live in today. Many ancient and modern thinkers, particularly those from non-Western cultures, are not currently included, but surely left an indelible mark on the advance of science and culture.

The ancient Greeks had many who could have a place on any list of geniuses, but Aristotle is known not only for his diverse writings, but for contributing to the development of the scientific method. Aristotle, along with his predecessors Socrates and Plato, is a founding figure in Western philosophy. As a scientist, his writings laid the foundation for scholarship until the Renaissance and contain the first known formal study of logic. Though many of his findings were eventually overturned, he remains one of the most influential thinkers of any era.

The Greek mathematician and prolific inventor Archimedes is perhaps most famous for exclaiming "Eureka!" in exultation after figuring out how to determine the volume of an irregular object. The secret? Put it in water. The increased volume of water measures the volume of the irregular object. Archimedes was known to create machines of war (a giant claw to sink ships and a "heat ray" to burn them) and peace (the famed Archimedes screw, which extracted water from the earth). His work with levers is well known, as is his remark "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth." He may also have designed the first block and tackle, allowing sailors to use the principle of leverage. As a mathematician, he developed methods similar to that of modern calculus and deduced the value of Pi.

The Greek scholar Eratosthenes, who invented the term and science known as geography, was known as "Beta" by his peers because he was "second best" at everything. But he was first at figuring out the circumference of the Earth. He made his calculations using only a stick and the length of shadows in different locations. He also calculated the tilt of the Earth's axis, and is thought to have deduced the distance of Earth from the sun and invented leap day. Eratosthenes was a good friend of fellow super-genius Archimedes.

Leonardo da Vinci is unique in that he is one of the most famous artists and men of science to ever live. An Italian polymath, he is known to have been an outstanding painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. Rhe embodiment of the "Renaissance man" he has been dubbed the "Universal Genius." Primarily a painter, he created two of the most famous works of art of all time, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Though he created relatively few paintings, he was a master of the human form thanks to countless anatomical sketches he made from real bodies. Some of his sketches were doodles of fanciful contraptions that could not be built using the technology of the day, including various flying machines. As an engineer he designed bridges, war machines and other diverse contraptions including musical instruments, pumps and cannons.

The Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo became the first person to use a telescope, which he helped refine, to make astronomical observations. He observed the mountains on the Moon, the four largest moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and said the "clouds" of The Milky Way were actually a multitude of stars. He was also the first to observe Saturn, Neptune and, in 1604, a supernova. His belief that the sun was the center of the solar system was considered heretical by the church. For his trouble, the "Father of Science" was forced to recant and remained under house arrest until his death.

Irish-born English scientist Robert Boyle is considered the founder of modern chemistry and proponent of Boyle's Law, which states the pressure of a gas tends to decrease as the volume of a gas increases. Boyle, originally an alchemist, believed metals could be transmuted into gold and set about trying to achieve it, but later became a pioneer of the scientific method and was among the first to publish his failures along with his successes.

Sir Isaac Newton, possibly the most influential scientist of all time, led the charge during the "scientific revolution" that became the basis for modern science. An Englishman, Newton created calculus in part to explain the physics of bodies (such as planets) in motion. He is best known for his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation, which explained Johannes Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

A polymath of the highest order, Leibniz was brilliant at anything that interested him. His greatest rival was no less than Sir Isaac Newton, who also appears on this list. Both men independently researched and discovered what is known today as calculus, but it is Leibniz's notation that is still used by mathematicians today. His many contributions to math include the refinement of binary math, used today by almost all computers. The German, unlike most scientists of his day, did not publish his findings. During his lifetime, he only published works on philosophy. Along with René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza, he was one of the three great 17th century advocates of "rationalism." His famous philosophical conclusions, that the actual world is the "best of all possible worlds" that God could have created, was famously mocked in Voltaire’s satirical novel Candide. Leibniz's "real job" was as a political adviser to the Holy Roman Empire, where, in 1677 (and again in 1715), he suggested a European confederation similar to today's European Union.

The French writer and philosopher Voltaire was a genius wit whose writings, along with other Enlightenment authors, had a lasting effect on the Founding Fathers of the United States. A savage critic of almost everything, but especially religious dogma and the corruption of aristocracy, he wrote with courage to promote politically unpopular topics, such as the right to a fair trial and freedom of religion. His most famous work, "Candide," concludes it is up to mankind "to cultivate our garden."

The writings of the German poet, dramatist, and novelist Goethe (pronounced "Gerta") had a profound influence on 19th century philosophy, art and science. His most famous work, Faust, and other writings inspired the music of Mozart, Beethoven and countless other composers; and the philosophy of Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Jung. The inventor Nikola Tesla, who memorized all of Faust, said Goethe's writings inspired the creation of alternating current. The plot of Faust, where a man sell's his soul to the devil for power, remains a recurring theme in popular culture.

Music and genius, like music and math, are intertwined. Though Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach could also be included on this list, we chose Mozart, who began composing at the age of 5 and toured Europe as a child prodigy. He composed over 600 works and his style became the archetype of what is considered "classical" music.

Though he was not formally trained, Michael Faraday is one of the most influential scientists to ever live. The native of England is best known for his discoveries of electromagnetic induction, which led to the electric motor, generator and transformer, and of the laws of electrolysis. The farad, a measure of electrical capacitance, is named in his honor.

Nikola Tesla, a one-time employee of Thomas Edison, was a physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer whose patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current electric power systems. He may have been the first person to capture an X-ray image, when he photographed American writer Mark Twain in 1895. As many as 17 of Tesla's patents were used in the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission (1901).

Albert Einstein is so smart his last name is synonymous with genius. The German-born theoretical physicist, who was visiting the United States when Hitler came to power and decided to stay, developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics. His general theory implied the existence of black holes. His special theory of relativity postulates there's no constant point of reference against which to measure motion and nothing with mass can exceed the speed of light. His mass–energy equivalence formula (Energy equals Mass times the Speed of Light squared) describes the huge amounts of energy released during nuclear reactions.

Danish physicist Niels Bohr made foundational contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, winning the Nobel Prize in 1922. Bohr is most famous for his model of the atom with the atomic nucleus at the centre and electrons in orbit around it, which he compared to the planets orbiting the sun.

In a profession stacked with genius, Russian chess master Garry Kasparov dominated like no other. He became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22 and held the title until 1993, when he left the global chess ranking organization FIDE in a dispute and formed the Professional Chess Association.

At the age of 2, Tao, an Australia-born mathematician, tried to teach a 5-year-old relative arithmetic and English. He scored a 760 on the math portion of the SAT at age 8 and had a master's degree at 16. At 24, he was a full professor at UCLA, the youngest person to ever achieve that position. He is the youngest person to ever win the Fields Medal, awarded for outstanding discoveries in math. He has won numerous awards and honors and is so revered among his peers that frustrated mathematicians "now compete to interest him in their problems. "If you're stuck ... then one way out is to interest Terence Tao," says Charles Fefferman, professor of mathematics at Princeton University.

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Genius takes many forms, but everyone on this incomplete list has had an influence on the world we live in today. Many ancient and modern thinkers, particularly those from non-Western cultures, are not currently included, but surely left an indelible mark on the advance of science and culture.

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Famous geniuses in world history

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