Feynman is definitely one my greats. Big part of it is probably his storytelling skills and his ability to rewrite reality, but all that was only possible thanks to his real contributions to science and his pedagogical skills.

Surely you're joking mister Feynman. Recommend this book to get to know his character.

Terrance Tao is one of greats, still alive. If you consider mathematics to be the purest of sciences.

Einstein is a pretty obvious pick. The other two are DEI selections (not to take anything away from their accomplishments, they just aren't two of the three most influential scientists).

I'd include Darwin on a most influential list. Evolution by natural selection is one of the most important ideas in the sciences (not just biology).

My third pick is going to be Archimedes, who advanced our understanding of mechanics tremendously. There are a bunch of worthy contenders for this slot, but so much was built off of Archimedes' work that I give him the edge.

That list is a good start but I imagine people will add scientist that appealed to them personally.

For me:

The person that takes up a lot of space in my mind currently is Hal Finney:

Isaac Newton

But he mainly occupies space in my mind from his bad investments into the British India company. He bought around the top and had big bags.

How can someone so ingenious fall for such a thing?

Boltzmann. While the foundations of thermodynamics had already been established before his time, he provided us a statistical interpretation of the second law. His theories connect macroscopic phenomena with microscopic properties.

I have to go with Tesla. Not only a genius who invented all sorts of amazing stuff, but also someone ripe for "what if" thoughts, given his wars with Edison. He's the first scientist I discovered because of science fiction novels (from Spider Robinson's works originally).

My daughter has a couple of the little people big dreams books but not this one.

Personally I would go with Newton. Understanding newtons laws of motion is applicable beyond science and math and a great framework for understand the world and even human behaviour.

The theory of relativity and its author left a huge mark on the history of science.

Leonardo da Vinci, Nicola Tesla and Margaret Hamilton would be my picks.

Hugh Everett: Only logically consistent interpretation of QM. Everything is part of the wave function of the universe, you can't treat "observers" independently.

I would pick Nikola Tesla instead Rosalina Franklin

Kepler! If I were a filmmaker, a Kepler biopic would be priority number one.

I will go with Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and because I am from India so my third choice is A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Isaac Newton comes first in all possible senses. His work on physics was Euclidean. He was the first to put math into what previously was sparse and incomplete knowledge, even unabstracted or solely empirical, and he made it such that he was able to make from the entire knowledge one sole perfect cristal. Consistent, calculable, extendible, you could now go back and forth from levers to astronomy to chemistry to electricity as if all were now the same thing in different format. His work is so perfect that it's foundations are perfectly consistent with relativity, only diverging when he applied it to euclidean spaces. Everything whe know stems from his work, from the purest mechanics to chemistry and electromagnetism, it's always different combinations of his principles. He was a godsend, a unique event in human history.

Maxwell is my next favourite pick because I love his approach of "if you only know the equation you can infer the natural phenomenon". Using that logic he was able to do something as ground breaking and awe inspiring es deducting that light was an electromagnetic phenomenon, that electromagnetism was a wave composed of magnetic and electrostatic fields which where each waves, and the apoteosis was finding the speed of light back again from the fundamental constants of those fields. All solely from equation analysis. It's absolutely insane and I think about it very often.

I will give a different perspective: Dr Fleming and penicillin discovery.

There are many people who came in times that were difficult for them and changed history. But to shortlist a few, I would say That there were about 4:-

Nicholas Copernicus Galileo Galilee Albert Einstein Leonardo Da Vinci

Why these? It's because of the times they lived in. Anybody who thought different was called a mental person.

My first choice is Albert Einstein, he was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely held as one of the most influential scientists. Best known for developing the theory ...

My second choice is Isaac Newton, he was a devoted scientist, mathematician and was known during his time in the seventeenth and eighteenth century as a "natural philosopher.

My third choice is Thomas Alva Edison, he often hailed as the inventor of the electric bulb, Edison held over 1000 patents, including inventions like the phonograph ...

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz ForMemRS (/ˈlɒrənts/; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derived the Lorentz transformation of the special theory of relativity, as well as the Lorentz force, which describes the combined electric and magnetic forces acting on a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. Lorentz was also responsible for the Lorentz oscillator model, a classical model used to describe the anomalous dispersion observed in dielectric materials when the driving frequency of the electric field was near the resonant frequency, resulting in abnormal refractive indices.

According to the biography published by the Nobel Foundation, "It may well be said that Lorentz was regarded by all theoretical physicists as the world's leading spirit, who completed what was left unfinished by his predecessors and prepared the ground for the fruitful reception of the new ideas based on the quantum theory."[2] He received many other honours and distinctions, including a term as chairman of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation,[3] the forerunner of UNESCO, between 1925 and 1928. He was the father and doctoral advisor of Geertruida de Haas-Lorentz.

Einstein wrote of Lorentz:

1928: The enormous significance of his work consisted therein, that it forms the basis for the theory of atoms and for the general and special theories of relativity. The special theory was a more detailed expose of those concepts which are found in Lorentz's research of 1895.[B 7] 1953: For me personally he meant more than all the others I have met on my life's journey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_gravitational_constant

From Brave search ai: Carl Friedrich Gauss's profound impact on mathematics and science is evident in his numerous contributions and the lasting influence he had on subsequent generations of mathematicians and scientists. Here are some key aspects of his legacy:

Foundations of Mathematics: Gauss's work laid the groundwork for many areas of mathematics, including: + Number Theory: His development of modular arithmetic, the theory of congruences, and the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry's connection to number theory have had a lasting impact. + Algebra: Gauss's introduction of the concept of groups, rings, and fields has been fundamental to modern algebra. + Geometry: His work on elliptic curves, modular forms, and differential geometry has influenced the development of modern geometry. Scientific Applications: Gauss's mathematical innovations have been applied in various scientific fields, including: + Astronomy: His calculations of celestial mechanics and the orbits of planets and comets have been crucial for understanding the solar system. + Geodesy: Gauss's work on geodetic measurements and the calculation of precise geographic coordinates has enabled accurate mapping and navigation. + Electromagnetism: His contributions to the understanding of electromagnetic phenomena, including the discovery of the Gaussian error curve, have been essential for the development of modern physics. Influence on Mathematicians: Gauss's students and contemporaries included many notable mathematicians, such as: + Richard Dedekind: Developed the theory of ideals and modules, building upon Gauss's work. + Bernhard Riemann: Extended Gauss's work on differential geometry and developed the theory of manifolds. + Gotthold Eisenstein: Made significant contributions to number theory, algebra, and geometry, often building upon Gauss's ideas. Legacy in Education: The "Gauss-Gesellschaft Göttingen" (Göttingen Gauss Society) was founded in 1964 to research and promote the life and work of Carl Friedrich Gauss, as well as related topics and personalities.

Gauss's extraordinary mathematical talent, combined with his innovative approach and prolific output, have cemented his status as one of the most influential mathematicians in history. His legacy continues to shape the development of mathematics and science, inspiring new generations of researchers and scholars.

Defenitly the necola tesla the great