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| 1.
Often historians look back at the Greek scientist Democritus as the first individual to propound on 'atomic theory'. At least one person prior to Democritus was talking about atoms, namely his teacher. Who was this pedagogue that is considered by some to be the true father of the atomic theory? |
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| 2.
We've all heard of James Watt and Robert Fulton, innovators of steam power. Perhaps fewer of us have heard of inventors Thomas Newcomen and Thomas Savory, who both developed steam engines around 1700. But who among us has heard of the true inventor of steam power, an ancient Alexandrian scientist working in the first century A.D. What was the name of this miraculous inventor and author of the 'Pneumatica'? |
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| 3.
The comet we now refer to as Halley's comet has a rather storied history that extends back long before observations were made of it by the famed English astronomer for whom it is named. Though sightings of the comet have been recorded all the way back to 240 B.C. (by the Chinese), the first sighting for which we have a name attached occurred in 1472. Name the German astronomer associated with these 1472 recordings. |
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| 4.
Typically, when we think about the origins of the heliocentric theory of our solar system, the name Copernicus comes up. Though Copernicus' work does deserve the notoriety that it has gotten (thanks to some publishing friends), he was certainly not the originator of said theory. The heliocentric theory originated with the ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos sometime in the 3rd century B.C. Closer to Copernicus' time, in the early 15th century, a German philosopher made similar speculations in his work entitled 'De Docta Ignorantia'. Who was this learned fellow? |
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| 5.
Of the two identified founders of the calculus, one is much more well known than the other. The most well-known of the two, Isaac Newton, is considered to be one of the greatest scientific minds of all time. Who is the lesser known originator of the calculus? |
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| 6.
Galileo, the greatest Italian genius of the 16th and 17th centuries, is usually given credit as the first to make experiments with falling bodies, typically atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or so the story goes. However, he was not the first to make such experiments. Several years before Galileo in the 1580s, which Dutchman made the same experiments, and recorded the same results? |
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| 7.
Joseph Lister is typically given credit for spreading the good word on the importance of antiseptic measures in surgery. However, he was not the first to realize the importance of such procedures. Which of the following individuals, working approximately twenty years before Lister, established the need for antiseptic procedures in the areas of obstetrics and surgery in his written work? |
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| 8.
When we think of evolution and its origins as a theory, we typically think of Charles Darwin. But Darwin was not the only British naturalist developing this theory during his time. Which of these contemporaries of Darwin also came up with a very cogent set of ideas about evolution, including the concept of natural selection? |
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| 9.
Traditionally, Joseph Priestly was given the credit for the discovery of the element oxygen. Priestly was not the first to identify oxygen though. Which of these scientists first identified that magical element essential for life? |
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| 10.
Louis Pasteur is given credit for smashing the idea of 'spontaneous generation', that is that living matter can be formed from non-living matter. But he was not the first to take on this subject in a scientific manner, nor was he the first to have established its falsehood. Which of these men was the first to make a significant scientific effort in toppling the myth of 'spontaneous generation'? |
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