Who was the greatest scientist/engineer of all time 12

[friartuck]

I don't know whether anyone has asked this one before but I was interested to hear who would be considered the greatest scientist or engineer of all time.

I can think of many from the dim and distant past including Archimedes, Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Louis Pascal and the great Einstein. How would the modern day scientists rate when compared to these great people.

Which one had the greatest impact on our lives?

And if they were all alive today....with the added benefit of computers and the W.W.W., just think what they could have achieved (perhaps computers might even have hindered them...who knows?)

Any thoughts?

Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[Maui]

Varsamidis, I remember a quote attributed to Newton where he praised the contributions of scientists who has lived before him by saying,"If I have seen further [than others] it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." That's a pretty substantial endoresment of the work of his predesessors by one of the masters of science.


Maui

 

[plasgears]

Even as a Mech Engr I have a special regard for bridge engineers (in the US) like Eads, Roebling, Cooper, Lindenthal, Steinman, Ammann, Strauss, Woodruff, Ellet, Hardesty, Modjeski, Purcell, and Waddell. There are others in modern times, but the aforementioned paved the way for engineered structures that were:

just barely strong enough.

Our brothers in Britain, Australia, Germany, France, et al, can enumerate others of note.

 

[MikeyP]

Maui,

The "standing on the shoulders of giants" quote comes from a letter than Newton wrote to Hooke. The two detested each other immensely. It is now thought by many people that the quote is not in fact a compliment but an outright insult. Hooke was quite a short man.

M

--
Dr Michael F Platten

 

[25362]

Why not define first of all what is meant by greatness in science and engineering ?

 

[fastasleep]

My vote would have to go to the entire team of scientists/ engineers at NASA during the 1960s. CAD wasn't even a dream when these guys put men on the moon.

An honorable mention not yet mentioned: Ben Franklin.


RalphChristie, my father use to say "If it wasn't for electricity, we'd all be watching TV in the dark."

 

[ScottyUK]

Some more candidates:

Charles Parsons, inventor of the turbine. A genius for sure, and a Geordie too;

Newton and von Liebnitz, the inventors of calculus;

Richard Trevethick, Thomas Newcomen - pioneers of the steam engine which gave birth to the industrial revolution;

Alan Turing, the greatest codebreaker ever to live;

George and Robert Stephenson, fathers of the railways (more Geordies!)



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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[Skogsgurra]

A little aside: Scotty. Ever heard of Ralph Tester? He was involved in the code-breaking at Malvern and ran the so-called "Testery", where Alan Turing was active during his last years. I had the great honor of knowing Ralph - and I think that he was also great. Not a Newton, Maxwell, Gauss or Fourier - but great enough for me.

 

[RalphChristie]

Fastasleep:
or by candlelight...?



Firstly, I think it depends a lot on what is important to one to make a choice for the "best engineer/scientist of all times"
Secondly, we don't think of discoveries/inventions long ago as something to talk about, because we are used to it. But if you see it in the light of the limited resources at that time, it was phenomenal. In my opinion every invention/discovery is something great.
And lastly, I think many times there were some unsung hero's behind the scenes who haven't got the credit they should have got.



Merry New Year and a Happy Christmas.....
sorry, it was a little fast......;-)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all [santa2]



Regards
Ralph

 

[ScottyUK]

Hi Skogsgurra,

I had heard of the Testery in passing, but had never realised that the name was derived from the leader of that section. I'd assumed it was a place where testing took place. Ralph Tester must be one of the many unsung heroes of WW2. Thanks for the insight.

The book "Enigma: The Battle for the Code"
by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore is worth a read for those who want to understand more about the achievements at Bletchley Park. Some of the analysis of the Enigma code is heavy going even when it is written down in the book; the mental gymnastics that Alan Turing must have performed while breaking the encryption are staggering.



----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[rhodie]

Does it seem bizarre that Eli Whitney and Henry Ford have been left off this list until now?

...or is it simply that "Industrialist" and "Engineer" are not synonymous terms? I'd say that the advent of interchangeable parts and the assembly line are dramatically significant constraints in the way that many of us do our jobs.

Both men have directly affected the geopolitical landscape of the world through the way that their inventions were applied to furnish war arsenals.

 

[A25786U]

Nikola Tesla !!!

The Greatest inventor of all times and the forgotten Genius!

You and I and the rest of the world owe to this man, next to God, much of the conveniences we presently enjoy. Please read his autobiograpy or pick up a book about this great man and you will know and understand why.

 

[corus]

The nameless people who designed and built the pyramids of egypt must be the greatest engineers of all time for the achievement of being the first to erect "deceptively spacious one bedroomed executive style apartments close to the beach", as estate agents would describe them in the UK.

corus

 

[ScottyUK]

Or perhaps the equally nameless South Americans who built the great Inca, Mayan, and Aztec civilisations long before Egypt built their admittedly amazing pyramids.



----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[corus]

Inca pyramids weren't near the beach and as such were of a poorer quality. Location, location, location, as they say.

corus

 

[davefitz]

What about the politican that invented the Internet?

 

[DwattedWabbit]

It all makes me appreciate more the program hosted by James Burke on public TV called "Connections." Marvelous stuff, making the connections and relationships between old discoveries and inventions and modern-day discoveries and inventions. Truly we all stand on the shoulders of giants.

 

[BobPE]

awsome show that was schetwynd.....

BobPE

 

[tomaspin]

James Burke also wrote a book to accompany the 'Connections' series, and you might still be able to find one second hand.
More recently, Bill Bryson published 'A short history of nearly everything' which describes the work of some of the forgotten heroes of science and engineering, which is both entertaining and informative.

Cheers

Tom

 

[Rich2001]

The greatest engineer of all times - the first Austropithicus that hit two stones together on purpose to make a cutting tool.

 

[Rjeffery]

second vote for Nikola Tesla!