Brief information about scientists. ​Outstanding scientists and inventors from the list of great people who changed the world

Pythagoras (c. 580-500 BC)

Every schoolchild knows: “In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the legs.” But few people know that Pythagoras was also a philosopher, religious thinker and political figure; it was he who introduced the term “philosophy” into our language, which means “philosophy.” He founded a school whose students were called Pythagoreans, and he was the first to use the word “cosmos.”

Democritus (460-c. 370 BC)

Democritus, like other philosophers of the Ancient world, was always interested in the question of what is the fundamental principle of the Universe. Some sages believed that it was water, others – fire, others – air, and still others – everything combined. Democritus was not convinced by their arguments. Reflecting on the fundamental principle of the world, he came to the conclusion that it was the smallest indivisible particles, which he called atoms. There are a great many of them. The whole world consists of them. They connect and separate. He made this discovery through logical reasoning. And more than two thousand years later, scientists of our time, using physical instruments, proved that he was right.

Euclid (c. 365-300 BC)

Plato's student Euclid wrote the treatise "Elements" in 13 books. In them, the scientist outlined the foundations of geometry, which means in Greek “the science of measuring the Earth,” which for many centuries was called Euclidean geometry. The ancient Greek king Ptolemy I Soter, who ruled in Egyptian Alexandria, demanded that Euclid, who explained the laws of geometry to him, do this shorter and faster. He replied: “Oh, great king, in geometry there are no royal roads...”

Archimedes (287-212 BC)

Archimedes remained in history as one of the most famous Greek mechanics, inventors and mathematicians, who amazed his contemporaries with his amazing machines. Watching the work of builders who used thick sticks to move stone blocks, Archimedes realized that the longer the lever, the greater the force of its impact. He told the Syracusan king Hieron: “Give me a fulcrum, and I will move the Earth.” Hieron didn't believe it. And then Archimedes, with the help of a complex system of mechanisms, with the effort of one hand, pulled the ship ashore, which was usually pulled out of the water by hundreds of people.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

The great Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci proved himself to be a universal creator. He was a sculptor, architect, inventor. A brilliant master, he made a huge contribution to art, culture and science. In Italy they called him a sorcerer, a wizard, a man who can do anything. Infinitely talented, he created various mechanisms, designed unprecedented aircraft such as a modern helicopter, and invented a tank.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

Nicolaus Copernicus became famous in the scientific world for his astronomical discoveries. His heliocentric system replaced the previous, Greek, geocentric one. He is the first to scientifically prove that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth, but vice versa. The Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Nicolaus Copernicus was a versatile scientist. Widely educated, he treated people, was knowledgeable in economics, and made various instruments and machines himself. Nicolaus Copernicus wrote in Latin and German throughout his life. Not a single document written by him in Polish has been found.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

The young Florentine Galileo Galilei, who studied at the University of Pisa, attracted the attention of professors not only with clever reasoning, but also with original inventions. But the gifted student was expelled from the 3rd year because his father did not have money for his studies. But Galileo was lucky - the young man found a patron, the rich Marquis Guidobaldo del Moite, who was fond of science. He supported 22-year-old Galileo. Thanks to the Marquis, the world received a man who showed his genius in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. Even during his lifetime, Galileo was compared to Archimedes. He was the first to declare that the Universe is infinite.

René Descartes (1596-1650)

Like many great thinkers of antiquity, Descartes was universal. He laid the foundations of analytical geometry, created many algebraic notations, discovered the law of conservation of motion, and explained the root causes of the motion of celestial bodies. Descartes studied at the best French Jesuit college in La Flèche. And there, at the beginning of the 17th century, strict orders reigned. The disciples got up early and ran to prayer. Only one, the best pupil was allowed to stay in bed due to poor health - this was Rene Descartes. So he developed the habit of reasoning and finding solutions to mathematical problems. Later, according to legend, it was in these morning hours that he had a thought that spread throughout the world: “I think, therefore I exist.”

Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

Isaac Newton - a brilliant English scientist, experimenter, researcher, also a mathematician, astronomer, inventor, made a lot of discoveries that determined the physical picture of the world around him. According to legend, Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation in his garden. He watched a falling apple and realized that the Earth attracts all objects to itself, and the heavier the object, the more strongly it is attracted to the Earth. Reflecting on this, he deduced the law of universal gravitation: All bodies attract each other with a force proportional to both masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

James Watt (1736-1819)

James Watt is considered one of the creators of the technological revolution that transformed the world. They tried to tame the energy of steam back in ancient times. The Greek scientist Heroes, who lived in Alexandria in the 1st century, built the first steam turbine, which rotated by burning wood in a heater. In Russia in the 18th century, mechanic Ivan Polzunov also tried to tame the energy of steam, but his machine was not widely used. And only the English, or rather the Scottish self-taught mechanic James Watt, was able to construct such a machine, which was used first in mines, then in factories, and then on locomotives and ships.

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794)

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was a multi-talented man who was successful in financial transactions, but was especially interested in chemistry. He made many discoveries, became the founder of modern chemistry, and would have accomplished a lot if not for the radicalism of the Great French Revolution. In his youth, Antoine Lavoisier participated in the Academy of Sciences competition for the best method of street lighting. To increase the sensitivity of his eyes, he upholstered his room with black material. Antoine described his acquired new perception of light in the work he submitted to the Academy, and received a gold medal for it. For scientific research in the field of mineralogy, at the age of 25 he was elected a member of the Academy.

Justus Liebig (1803-1873)

Justus Liebig is credited with creating food concentrates. He developed a technology for the production of meat extract, which today is called a “broth cube”. The German Chemical Society erected a monument to him in Munich. The outstanding German professor of organic chemistry, Justus Liebig, spent his entire life researching methods of plant nutrition and solving issues of rational use of fertilizers. He did a lot to increase agricultural productivity. Russia, for the assistance it provided in the rise of agriculture, awarded the scientist two Orders of St. Anne, England made him an honorary citizen, and in Germany he received the title of baron.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

Louis Pasteur is a rare example of a scientist who had neither medical nor chemical education. He made his way into science on his own, without any protégés, based on personal interest. But scientists showed interest in him, noticing considerable abilities in the young man. And Louis Pasteur became an outstanding French microbiologist and chemist, a member of the French Academy, and created the pasteurization process. An institute was created especially for him in Paris, which was later named after him. Russian microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate in physiology and medicine, Ilya Mechnikov, worked at this institute for 18 years.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896)

Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish chemical engineer, invented dynamite, who patented it in 1867 and proposed it for use in tunneling. This invention made Nobel famous throughout the world and brought him enormous income. The word dynamite in Greek means "strength". This explosive, which consists of nitroglycerin, potassium or sodium nitrate and wood flour, depending on the volume, can destroy a car, a house, or destroy a rock. In 1895, Nobel made a will, according to which most of his capital was allocated to prizes for outstanding achievements in chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and peace.

Robert Heinrich Hermann Koch (1843-1910)

Close communication with nature determined his future choice of profession - Robert Koch became a microbiologist. And it started in childhood. Robert Koch's maternal grandfather was a great lover of nature, often taking his beloved 7-year-old grandson with him into the forest, telling him about the life of trees and herbs, and talking about the benefits and harms of insects. Microbiologist Koch fought against the most terrible diseases of mankind - anthrax, cholera and tuberculosis. And he came out victorious. For his achievements in the fight against tuberculosis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905.

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1845-1923)

In 1895, a German scientific journal published a photograph of the hand of Wilhelm Roentgen’s wife, taken using X-rays (x-rays, later called X-rays after their discoverer), which aroused great interest in the scientific world. Before Roentgen, no physicist had done anything like this. This photograph indicated that penetration into the depths of the human body had taken place without physically opening it. It was a breakthrough in medicine, in the recognition of diseases. For the discovery of these rays, William Roentgen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)

During his life, Edison improved the telegraph, telephone, created a microphone, invented the phonograph and, most importantly, illuminated America with his incandescent light bulb, and behind it the whole world. There has never been a more inventive man in American history than Thomas Edison. In total, he is the author of over 1,000 patented inventions in the United States and about 3,000 in other countries. But before achieving such an outstanding result, he, according to his own frank statements, made many tens of thousands of unsuccessful experiments and experiments.

Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867-1934)

Marie Skłodowska Curie graduated from the Sorbonne, the largest institution of higher education in France, and became the first female teacher in its history. Together with her husband Pierre Curie, she first discovered radium, a decay product of uranium-238, and then polonium. The study and use of the radioactive properties of radium played a huge role in the study of the structure of the atomic nucleus and the phenomenon of radioactivity. Among world-class scientists, Maria Sklodowska-Curie occupies a special place; she twice won the Nobel Prize: in 1903 in physics, in 1911 in chemistry. Such an outstanding result is a rare occurrence even among men.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein is one of the founders of theoretical physics, Nobel Prize laureate, and public figure. But he made a strange impression on his contemporaries: he dressed casually, loved sweaters, did not comb his hair, could stick his tongue out at a photographer, and generally did God knows what. But behind this frivolous appearance hid a paradoxical scientist - thinker, author of over 600 works on various topics. His theory of relativity revolutionized science. It turned out that the world around us is not so simple. Space-time is curved, and as a result, gravity and the passage of time change, and the sun's rays deviate from the straight direction.

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)

Alexander Fleming, a native of Scotland, an English bacteriologist, spent his whole life searching for medications that could help a person cope with infectious diseases. He was able to discover a substance in penicillium mold that kills bacteria. And the first antibiotic appeared - penicillin, which revolutionized medicine. Fleming was the first to discover that human mucous membranes contain a special liquid that not only prevents the penetration of microbes, but also kills them. He isolated this substance and called it lysozyme.

Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)

Robert Oppenheimer, an American physicist and creator of the atomic bomb, was very worried when he learned about the terrible casualties and destruction caused by the American atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He was a conscientious person and subsequently called on scientists all over the world not to create weapons of enormous destructive power. He entered the history of science as the “father of the atomic bomb” and as the discoverer of black holes in the Universe.

photo from the Internet

Our country is rich in talented scientists and inventors, whose work has made a huge contribution not only to the development of their own country, but also has become the property of world science and culture. Many of the brilliant scientists, whose inventions are used by the whole world, are unfairly forgotten or even unknown in their homeland.

We invite you to get acquainted with the best inventions and the most significant scientists, engineers and discoverers from Russia who deserve recognition.

01. VCR

Alexander Ponyatov

The first working prototype and production model of the VCR was developed by the American company AMPEX, which was founded in 1944 by a Russian emigrant, Kazan engineer Alexander Matveevich Ponyatov.

The company name Ampex is an acronym formed from the first letters of the creator’s name and the word “experimental” - Alexander M. Poniatoff EXperimental.

At the beginning of its journey, the company was engaged in the production and development of sound recording equipment, but in the first half of the 50s it reoriented itself to the development of video recording devices and media for them.

At that time, there was already experience in recording images from a television screen, but recording devices required an incredibly large amount of tape. AMPEX invented a way to record images perpendicular to tape using rotating head units. The invention received quick recognition, and already in November 1956, a news broadcast was broadcast on the CBS television channel, which was recorded on Alexander Ponyatov’s VCR.

In 1960, the company and its founder received an Oscar for their invention, which made enormous contributions to the film and television industries.

The name of Alexander Ponyatov was little known to the general public in the USSR, however, in the USA, after the death of the engineer in 1982, the American Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, noting his outstanding contribution to the development of television technology, established the “Gold Medal named after. Poniatoff" (SMPTE Poniatoff Gold Medal), awarded for achievements in the field of magnetic recording of electrical signals.

Being and living far from his homeland, Alexander Ponyatov never ceased to miss his native land, how else can one explain the massive planting of birch trees at the main entrance of all AMPEX company offices. Alexander Matveevich personally ordered this.

02. Tetris


Alexey Pajitnov with his son

About 30 years ago in the Soviet Union, a certain puzzle called “Pentamino” was very popular. Its essence was to construct figures on lined fields. The popularity of the puzzle reached such a level that special collections with problems were created and published, where some of the pages were devoted to solving problems from previous issues of the collections.

This game, from a mathematical point of view, was an excellent test for a computer system. In this regard, Alexey Pajitnov, a researcher at the USSR Academy of Sciences, developed a computer program similar to a puzzle for his “Electronics 60”. There was not enough capacity to create the classic version of the puzzle, where the field consisted of 5 cubes, so the field was reduced to 4 cells and a system for falling pieces was created. This is how one of the most popular computer games in the world appeared - Tetris.

Despite the modern development of technology, Tetris is still very popular, and other games for smartphones and computers are being developed based on it.

  • Read also:

03. Galvanoplasty

Moritz Hermann Jacobi is a German and Russian physicist and inventor. In the Russian way - Boris Semenovich Jacobi.

Plastic products that have a thin metal coating have entered our lives so long ago that we no longer notice the difference. There are also metal products that are coated with thin layers of other metals, and exact metal replicas of products with a non-metallic base.

This opportunity arose thanks to the brilliant physicist Boris Jacobi, who invented the “galvanoplasty” method. The electroforming method involves depositing metals onto molds to produce perfect copies of the original objects.

This method is widely used in many manufacturing areas around the world and is extremely popular due to its simplicity and high cost-effectiveness.

Boris Semenovich Jacobi became famous not only for the discovery of galvanoplasty. He also built the first electric motor, a telegraph machine that printed letters.

Until the summer of 2017, the grave of the great scientist Boris Semenovich Jacobi looked like this, despite the fact that it is under state protection!


The grave of Boris Semenovich Jacobi

Restoration was planned by an initiative group from St. Petersburg, but there is still no exact information about the work carried out.

04. Electric cars

The end of the 19th century was characterized by a huge increase in popularity for electric transport and vehicles without internal combustion engines. In those days, every self-respecting engineer developed and designed an electric car. The cities were small in size, so a range of several tens of kilometers on a single charge was quite enough for comfortable use of cars.

One of the enthusiasts was Ippolit Romanov, who created several decent electric vehicle models, which, for a variety of reasons, were not commercially successful.


The first Russian electric car and its creator - Russian engineer-inventor - Ippolit Vladimirovich Romanov

Moreover, he designed an electric multi-passenger vehicle that was capable of carrying 17 passengers and developed a map of urban routes. This project was supposed to become the progenitor of modern trams, but it was not destined to come to fruition due to the lack of the required number of investors.

However, Ippolit Romanov is considered one of the first inventors of electric vehicles, which are currently extremely popular, and the first inventor of the progenitor of the modern tram.

05. Electric arc welding

Nikolai Nikolaevich Benardos is a Russian engineer, inventor of electric arc welding, spot and seam contact welding.

An electric arc welding method that relies on the physical action of an electric arc that is created between an electrode and pieces of metal. This method was patented in 1888 by Nikolai Benardos, a native of Novorossiysk Greeks.

The invention of this method made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of various types of installation work, as well as increase the speed of their implementation and the level of reliability. After its invention, the method spread extremely quickly throughout the world and, in less than 50 years, took a leading position in many areas where fastening metal structures is necessary.

Despite hundreds of his inventions, including electric arc welding, the inventor did not gain fame and died in 1905 alone and in poverty.

06. Helicopter

The first person in the world to design and build a helicopter was Russian engineer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky. The first production models, called R-4, were created in 1942.


Igor Sikorsky

In addition, Igor Sikorsky was one of the first inventors and testers of multi-engine aircraft, which at that time were considered too dangerous and uncontrollable.

In 1913, Sikorsky managed to lift into the air a four-engine Russian Knight aircraft, and in 1914 he set a record for flight duration, covering the distance between St. Petersburg and Kiev on an aircraft of this type.

  • Related article:

07. Color photographs


Self-portrait of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky. January 1, 1912, Library of Congress

The first color printing was invented at the end of the 19th century, however, photographs of that time were distinguished by a colossal shift in spectra, which made the quality of the images far from ideal.

The domestic photographer spent a long time studying the technology of color photography; he paid special attention to the chemical component of the process. Thanks to painstaking work in 1905, he managed to invent and patent a unique substance to increase the sensitivity of a photographic plate. This chemical reagent significantly improved the quality of color photographs and stimulated the development of color photography throughout the world.

  • Article

01/17/2012 02/12/2018 by ☭ USSR ☭

There were many outstanding figures in our country, which we, unfortunately, forget, not to mention the discoveries that were made by Russian scientists and inventors. The events that turned the history of Russia upside down are also not known to everyone. I want to correct this situation and recall the most famous Russian inventions.

1. Airplane - Mozhaisky A.F.

The talented Russian inventor Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaisky (1825-1890) was the first in the world to create a life-size airplane capable of lifting a person into the air. As is known, people of many generations, both in Russia and in other countries, worked on solving this complex technical problem before A.F. Mozhaisky; they followed different paths, but none of them managed to bring the matter to practical experience with a full-scale aircraft. A.F. Mozhaisky found the right way to solve this problem. He studied the works of his predecessors, developed and supplemented them, using his theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Of course, he did not manage to resolve all the issues, but he did, perhaps, everything that was possible at that time, despite the extremely unfavorable situation for him: limited material and technical capabilities, as well as distrust of his work on the part of the military-bureaucratic apparatus Tsarist Russia. Under these conditions, A.F. Mozhaisky managed to find the spiritual and physical strength to complete the construction of the world's first aircraft. It was a creative feat that forever glorified our Motherland. Unfortunately, the surviving documentary materials do not allow us to describe in the necessary detail the aircraft of A.F. Mozhaisky and its tests.

2. Helicopter– B.N. Yuryev.


Boris Nikolaevich Yuryev is an outstanding aviator scientist, full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, lieutenant general of the engineering and technical service. In 1911, he invented a swashplate (the main component of a modern helicopter) - a device that made it possible to build helicopters with stability and controllability characteristics acceptable for safe piloting by ordinary pilots. It was Yuryev who paved the way for the development of helicopters.

3. Radio receiver— A.S.Popov.

A.S. Popov first demonstrated the operation of his device on May 7, 1895. at a meeting of the Russian Physical-Chemical Society in St. Petersburg. This device became the world's first radio receiver, and May 7 became the birthday of radio. And now it is celebrated annually in Russia.

4. TV - Rosing B.L.

On July 25, 1907, he filed an application for the invention “Method of electrically transmitting images over distances.” The beam was scanned in the tube by magnetic fields, and the signal was modulated (change in brightness) using a capacitor, which could deflect the beam vertically, thereby changing the number of electrons passing to the screen through the diaphragm. On May 9, 1911, at a meeting of the Russian Technical Society, Rosing demonstrated the transmission of television images of simple geometric figures and their reception with reproduction on a CRT screen.

5. Backpack parachute - Kotelnikov G.E.

In 1911, a Russian military man, Kotelnikov, impressed by the death of the Russian pilot Captain L. Matsievich at the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival in 1910, invented a fundamentally new parachute RK-1. Kotelnikov's parachute was compact. Its dome is made of silk, the slings were divided into 2 groups and attached to the shoulder girths of the suspension system. The canopy and lines were placed in a wooden, and later aluminum, backpack. Later, in 1923, Kotelnikov proposed a backpack for stowing a parachute, made in the form of an envelope with honeycombs for lines. During 1917, 65 parachute descents were registered in the Russian army, 36 for rescue and 29 voluntary.

6. Nuclear power plant.

Launched on June 27, 1954 in Obninsk (then the village of Obninskoye, Kaluga Region). It was equipped with one AM-1 reactor (“peaceful atom”) with a capacity of 5 MW.
The reactor of the Obninsk NPP, in addition to generating energy, served as a base for experimental research. Currently, the Obninsk NPP is decommissioned. Its reactor was shut down on April 29, 2002 for economic reasons.

7. Periodic table of chemical elements– Mendeleev D.I.


The periodic system of chemical elements (Mendeleev's table) is a classification of chemical elements that establishes the dependence of various properties of elements on the charge of the atomic nucleus. The system is a graphic expression of the periodic law established by the Russian chemist D. I. Mendeleev in 1869. Its original version was developed by D.I. Mendeleev in 1869-1871 and established the dependence of the properties of elements on their atomic weight (in modern terms, on atomic mass).

8. Laser

Prototype laser masers were made in 1953-1954. N. G. Basov and A. M. Prokhorov, as well as, independently of them, the American C. Townes and his employees. Unlike the Basov and Prokhorov quantum generators, which found a way out by using more than two energy levels, the Townes maser could not operate in a constant mode. In 1964, Basov, Prokhorov and Townes received the Nobel Prize in Physics “for their seminal work in the field of quantum electronics, which made it possible to create oscillators and amplifiers based on the principle of the maser and laser.”

9. Bodybuilding


Russian athlete Evgeniy Sandov, the title of his book “bodybuilding” was literally translated into English. language.

10. Hydrogen bomb– Sakharov A.D.

Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov(May 21, 1921, Moscow - December 14, 1989, Moscow) - Soviet physicist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences and politician, dissident and human rights activist, one of the creators of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1975.

11. The first artificial satellite of the earth, the first astronaut, etc.

12. Plaster - N. I. Pirogov

For the first time in the history of world medicine, Pirogov used a plaster cast, which accelerated the healing process of fractures and saved many soldiers and officers from ugly curvature of their limbs. During the siege of Sevastopol, to care for the wounded, Pirogov used the help of sisters of mercy, some of whom came to the front from St. Petersburg. This was also an innovation at that time.

13. Military medicine

Pirogov invented the stages of providing military medical service, as well as methods for studying human anatomy. In particular, he is the founder of topographic anatomy.


Antarctica was discovered on January 16 (January 28), 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, who approached it on the sloops Vostok and Mirny at point 69°21? Yu. w. 2°14? h. d. (G) (area of ​​the modern Bellingshausen ice shelf).

15. Immunity

Having discovered the phenomena of phagocytosis in 1882 (which he reported in 1883 at the 7th Congress of Russian Naturalists and Doctors in Odessa), he developed on their basis the comparative pathology of inflammation (1892), and later the phagocytic theory of immunity (“Immunity in infectious diseases” , 1901 - Nobel Prize, 1908, jointly with P. Ehrlich).


The basic cosmological model in which consideration of the evolution of the Universe begins with a state of dense hot plasma consisting of protons, electrons and photons. The hot universe model was first considered in 1947 by Georgiy Gamow. The origin of elementary particles in the hot universe model has been described since the late 1970s using spontaneous symmetry breaking. Many of the shortcomings of the hot universe model were resolved in the 1980s as a result of the theory of inflation.


The most famous computer game, invented by Alexey Pajitnov in 1985.

18. The first machine gun - V.G. Fedorov

An automatic carbine designed for hand-held burst fire. V.G. Fedorov. Abroad, this type of weapon is called an “assault rifle.”

1913 - prototype chambered for a special cartridge intermediate in power (between pistol and rifle).
1916 - adoption (under the Japanese rifle cartridge) and first combat use (Romanian Front).

19. Incandescent lamp– lamp by A.N. Lodygin

The light bulb does not have one single inventor. The history of the light bulb is a whole chain of discoveries made by different people at different times. However, Lodygin's merits in the creation of incandescent lamps are especially great. Lodygin was the first to propose using tungsten filaments in lamps (in modern light bulbs the filaments are made of tungsten) and twisting the filament in the shape of a spiral. Lodygin was also the first to pump air out of lamps, which increased their service life many times over. Another invention of Lodygin, aimed at increasing the service life of lamps, was filling them with inert gas.

20. Diving apparatus

In 1871, Lodygin created a project for an autonomous diving suit using a gas mixture consisting of oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen had to be produced from water by electrolysis.

21. Induction oven


The first caterpillar propulsion device (without a mechanical drive) was proposed in 1837 by staff captain D. Zagryazhsky. Its caterpillar propulsion system was built on two wheels surrounded by an iron chain. And in 1879, the Russian inventor F. Blinov received a patent for the “caterpillar track” he created for a tractor. He called it “a locomotive for dirt roads”

23. Cable telegraph line

The St. Petersburg-Tsarskoe Selo line was built in the 40s. XIX century and had a length of 25 km. (B. Jacobi)

24. Synthetic rubber from petroleum– B. Byzov

25. Optical sight


“A mathematical instrument with a perspective telescope, with other accessories and a spirit level for quick guidance from a battery or from the ground at the shown location to the target horizontally and along the levation.” Andrey Konstantinovich NARTOV (1693-1756).


In 1801, the Ural master Artamonov solved the problem of lightening the weight of the cart by reducing the number of wheels from four to two. Thus, Artamonov created the world's first pedal scooter, a prototype of the future bicycle.

27. Electric welding

The method of electric welding of metals was invented and first used in 1882 by the Russian inventor Nikolai Nikolaevich Benardos (1842 - 1905). He called the “stitching” of metal with an electric seam “electrohephaestus.”

The world's first personal computer was invented not by the American company Apple Computers and not in 1975, but in the USSR in 1968
year by a Soviet designer from Omsk Arseny Anatolyevich Gorokhov (born 1935). Copyright certificate No. 383005 describes in detail the “programming device,” as the inventor then called it. They didn’t give money for an industrial design. The inventor was asked to wait a little. He waited until the domestic “bicycle” was invented abroad once again.

29. Digital technologies.

- the father of all digital technologies in data transmission.

30. Electric motor– B.Jacobi.

31. Electric car


The two-seater electric car of I. Romanov, model 1899, changed the speed in nine gradations - from 1.6 km per hour to a maximum of 37.4 km per hour

32. Bomber

Four-engine aircraft “Russian Knight” by I. Sikorsky.

33. Kalashnikov assault rifle


A symbol of freedom and the fight against oppressors.

Aristotle (384–322 BC)

Aristotle is an ancient Greek scientist, encyclopedist, philosopher and logician, founder of classical (formal) logic. Considered one of the greatest geniuses in history and the most influential philosopher of antiquity. He made a huge contribution to the development of logic and natural sciences, especially astronomy, physics and biology. Although many of his scientific theories were refuted, they greatly contributed to the search for new hypotheses to explain them.

Archimedes (287–212 BC)


Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician, inventor, astronomer, physicist and engineer. Generally considered the greatest mathematician of all time and one of the leading scientists of the classical period of antiquity. His contributions to the field of physics include the fundamental principles of hydrostatics, statics, and the explanation of the principle of lever action. He is credited with inventing innovative machinery, including siege engines and the screw pump named after him. Archimedes also invented the spiral that bears his name, formulas for calculating the volumes of surfaces of revolution, and an original system for expressing very large numbers.

Galileo (1564–1642)


In eighth place in the ranking of the greatest scientists in the history of the world is Galileo, an Italian physicist, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He has been called the "father of observational astronomy" and the "father of modern physics". Galileo was the first to use a telescope to observe celestial bodies. Thanks to this, he made a number of outstanding astronomical discoveries, such as the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, sunspots, the rotation of the Sun, and also established that Venus changes phases. He also invented the first thermometer (without a scale) and proportional compass.

Michael Faraday (1791–1867)


Michael Faraday was an English physicist and chemist, primarily known for the discovery of electromagnetic induction. Faraday also discovered the chemical effect of current, diamagnetism, the effect of a magnetic field on light, and the laws of electrolysis. He also invented the first, albeit primitive, electric motor and the first transformer. He introduced the terms cathode, anode, ion, electrolyte, diamagnetism, dielectric, paramagnetism, etc. In 1824 he discovered the chemical elements benzene and isobutylene. Some historians consider Michael Faraday to be the best experimentalist in the history of science.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931)


Thomas Alva Edison is an American inventor and businessman, founder of the prestigious scientific magazine Science. Considered one of the most prolific inventors of his time, with a record number of patents issued to his name - 1,093 in the United States and 1,239 in other countries. Among his inventions are the creation in 1879 of an electric incandescent lamp, a system for distributing electricity to consumers, a phonograph, improvements in the telegraph, telephone, film equipment, etc.

Marie Curie (1867–1934)


Marie Skłodowska-Curie - French physicist and chemist, teacher, public figure, pioneer in the field of radiology. The only woman to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields of science - physics and chemistry. The first woman professor to teach at the Sorbonne University. Her achievements include the development of the theory of radioactivity, methods for separating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two new chemical elements, radium and polonium. Marie Curie is one of the inventors who died from their inventions.

Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)


Louis Pasteur - French chemist and biologist, one of the founders of microbiology and immunology. He discovered the microbiological essence of fermentation and many human diseases. Initiated a new department of chemistry - stereochemistry. Pasteur's most important achievement is considered to be his work on bacteriology and virology, which resulted in the creation of the first vaccines against rabies and anthrax. His name is widely known thanks to the pasteurization technology he created and later named after him. All of Pasteur's works became a striking example of the combination of fundamental and applied research in the fields of chemistry, anatomy and physics.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727)


Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, historian, biblical scholar and alchemist. He is the discoverer of the laws of motion. Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation, laid the foundations of classical mechanics, formulated the principle of conservation of momentum, laid the foundations of modern physical optics, built the first reflecting telescope and developed the theory of color, formulated the empirical law of heat transfer, constructed the theory of the speed of sound, proclaimed the theory of the origin of stars and many other mathematical and physical theories. Newton was also the first to describe the phenomenon of tides mathematically.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955)


Second place in the list of the greatest scientists in the history of the world is occupied by Albert Einstein - a German physicist of Jewish origin, one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century, the creator of the general and special theories of relativity, discovered the law of the relationship between mass and energy, as well as many other significant physical theories. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Author of more than 300 scientific papers on physics and 150 books and articles in the field of history, philosophy, journalism, etc.

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943)


There have been many smart people in Russian history. Brilliant mathematicians, chemists, physicists, geologists, philosophers - they made a contribution to both Russian and world science.

1 Mikhail Lomonosov

The first Russian natural scientist of world significance, encyclopedist, chemist, physicist, astronomer, instrument maker, geographer, metallurgist, geologist, poet, artist, historian. A man under two meters, possessing enormous strength, not shy about using it, and ready to punch him in the eye - if justice demanded it. Mikhail Lomonosov is practically a superman.

2 Dmitry Mendeleev

Russian Da Vinci, the brilliant father of the periodic table of elements, Mendeleev was a versatile scientist and public figure. Thus, he made a significant and invaluable contribution to oil activities.

Mendeleev said: “Oil is not fuel! You can also use banknotes to drown!” At his instigation, the barbaric four-year buyout of oil fields was abolished. Then Mendeleev proposed transporting oil through pipes and developed oils based on oil refining waste, which were several times cheaper than kerosene. Thus, Russia was able not only to refuse to export kerosene from America, but also to import petroleum products to Europe.

Mendeleev was nominated for the Nobel Prize three times, but he never received it. Which is not surprising.

3 Nikolai Lobachevsky

A six-time rector of Kazan University, a professor, the first textbooks he published were condemned for using and promoting the metric system of measures. Lobachevsky refuted Euclid's fifth postulate, calling the axiom of parallelism an “arbitrary restriction.”

Lobachevsky developed completely new trigonometry of non-Euclidean space and differential geometry with the calculation of lengths, volumes, and areas.

Recognition came to the scientist after his death; his ideas were continued in the works of such mathematicians as Klein, Beltrami and Poincaré. The realization that Lobachevsky's geometry is not an antagonism, but an alternative to Euclid's geometry gave impetus to new powerful discoveries and research in mathematics and physics.

4 Sofya Kovalevskaya

“Professor Sonya” is the first woman professor in the world and the first woman in Russia to be a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Kovalevskaya was not only a brilliant mathematician and mechanic, but also distinguished herself in the literary field. Kovalevskaya’s path in science was not easy, which was associated, first of all, with gender prejudices.

5 Vladimir Vernadsky

Famous mineralogist, researcher of the earth's crust, “father” of the Soviet nuclear program. Vernadsky was one of the first people who paid attention to eugenics; he studied geology, biochemistry, geochemistry, and meteorology. and many others. But, perhaps, his main contribution is the description of the laws of the Earth's biosphere and the noosphere as its integral part. Here the scientific insight of the Russian scientist is simply unique.

6 Zhores Alferov

Today, everyone benefits from the discoveries of Zhores Alferov, the Russian Nobel Prize laureate in 2000. All mobile phones contain heterostructure semiconductors created by Alferov. All fiber optic communications operate on its semiconductors and the Alferov laser.

Without the Alferov laser, CD players and disk drives of modern computers would not be possible. Zhores Ivanovich's discoveries are used in car headlights, traffic lights, and supermarket equipment - product label decoders. At the same time, Alferov made the scientist’s insights, which led to qualitative changes in the development of all electronic technology, back in 1962-1974.

7 Kirik Novgorodets

Kirik Novgorodian - mathematician, writer, chronicler and musician of the 12th century; author of the first Russian mathematical and astronomical treatise “The Doctrine of Numbers”; calculated the smallest perceptible period of time. Kirik was a deacon and domestic of the Anthony Monastery in Novgorod. He is also considered the alleged author of “Kirikov’s Questioning”.

8 Kliment Smolyatich

Kliment Smolyatich was one of the most prominent Russian medieval thinkers. Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus' (1147-1155), church writer, first Russian theologian, second metropolitan of Russian origin.
Smolyatich was considered the most highly educated person of his time. In the chronicle he is mentioned as such a “scribe and philosopher, the likes of which have never happened in the Russian land.”

9 Lev Landau

Lev Landau is a completely unique phenomenon. He was a child prodigy who did not lose his talent in adulthood. At the age of 13, he graduated from 10 classes, and at 14 he entered two faculties at once: chemistry and physics and mathematics.

For special merits, Landau was transferred from Baku University to Leningrad University. Landau received 3 State Prizes of the USSR, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Denmark, the Netherlands and the USA.

In 1962, the Royal Swedish Academy awarded Landau the Nobel Prize "for his fundamental theories of condensed matter, especially liquid helium."
For the first time in history, the award took place in a Moscow hospital, since shortly before the presentation, Landau was involved in a car accident.

10 Ivan Pavlov

A brilliant Russian scientist, Ivan Pavlov received his well-deserved Nobel Prize in 1904 “for his work on the physiology of digestion.” Pavlov is a unique scientist on a global scale, who managed to form his own school in the difficult conditions of a state under construction, to which the scientist made considerable claims. In addition, Pavlov collected paintings, plants, butterflies, stamps, and books. Scientific research led him to abandon meat food.

11 Andrey Kolmogorov

Andrei Kolmogorov was one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, the founder of a large scientific school. Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin and Stalin Prizes, member of many scientific academies around the world, honorary doctor of universities from Paris to Calcutta. Kolmogorov - author of the axioms of probability theory and many theorems, author of the equation, inequality, mean, space and complexity of Kolmogorov

12 Nikolai Danilevsky

A global thinker who laid the foundations for a civilizational approach to history. Without his works there would have been neither Spengler nor Toynbee. Nikolai Danilevsky saw “Europeanism,” looking at the world through “European glasses,” as one of the main diseases of Russia.

He believed that Russia had a special path, which should be rooted in Orthodox culture and monarchy, dreamed of creating an All-Slavic Union and was sure that Russia should under no circumstances follow the path of America.

13 Georgy Gamov

The father of the “hot Universe” theory, at the age of 24 Gamow performed Nobel-level work, developing the theory of alpha decay, and at 28 he became the youngest corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in the entire history of its existence. He was also a multilingual speaker - he spoke six languages ​​fluently.

Gamow became one of the brightest stars in astrophysics and cosmology. He was the first to calculate models of stars with thermonuclear reactions, proposed a model of the shell of a red giant, and studied the role of neutrinos in outbursts of novae and supernovae.

In 1954, Gamow was the first to pose the problem of the genetic code. After Gamow's death, the Americans received the Nobel for deciphering it.

14 Sergey Averintsev

Sergei Averintsev, a student of Alexei Losev, was one of the most prominent philologists, cultural scholars, biblical scholars and translators of the twentieth century. He explored various layers of European, including Christian, culture - from antiquity to modernity.
Literary critic, philosopher and cultural critic Nikita Struve wrote about Averintsev: “A great scientist, biblical scholar, patrolologist, subtle literary critic, poet who revived the tradition of spiritual poetry, Averintsev stands before my eyes no less than a humble disciple and a bright witness of Christ. The rays of faith illuminated all his work.”

15 Mikhail Bakhtin

One of the few Russian thinkers and literary scholars canonized in the West. His books about the works of Dostoevsky and Rabelais “blew up” the literary establishment, his work “Towards a Philosophy of Action” became a reference book for intellectuals around the world.

Bakhtin was brought from exile in Kazakhstan to Moscow in 1969 by Andropov. He also provided the “great lame man” with protection. Bakhtin was published and translated en masse. In England, at the University of Sheffield, there is a Bakhtin Center that conducts scientific and educational work. Bakhtin's work gained particular popularity in France and Japan, where the world's first collection of his works was published, as well as a large number of monographs and works about him.

16 Vladimir Bekhterev

The great Russian psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Vladimir Bekhterev, was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times, treated drunkards en masse with hypnosis, studied parapsychology and crowd psychology, child psychology and telepathy. Bekhterev paved the way for the creation of so-called “brain atlases”. One of the creators of such atlases, the German professor Kopsch, said: “Only two people know perfectly the structure of the brain - God and Bekhterev.”

17 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

Tsiolkovsky was a genius. He made many of his discoveries intuitively. A theorist of cosmism, he worked a lot and fruitfully on applied things, on the creation of the theory of flight of jet aircraft, and invented his own gas turbine engine design. Tsiolkovsky’s merits were highly appreciated not only by domestic scientists, but also by the creator of the first rockets, Wernher Von Braun.
Tsiolkovsky was quirky. Thus, he defended eugenics, believed in the catastrophic structure of society and believed that criminals should be split into atoms.

Lev Vygotsky is an outstanding Russian psychologist, creator of cultural-historical theory. Vygotsky made a real revolution in defectology and gave hope for a full life to people with disabilities. When Western society got tired of “life according to Freud,” it switched to “life according to Vygodsky.”

After the translation of Vygotsky’s work “Thinking and Speech” into English and Japanese, the Russian psychologist became a truly iconic figure. Stephen Toulmin of the University of Chicago even titled his article on Vygotsky, published in the New York Review, “Mozart in Psychology.”

20 Peter Kropotkin

The “Father of Anarchism” and eternal rebel Peter Kropotkin, who on his deathbed refused the special rations and special treatment conditions offered by Lenin, was one of the most enlightened people of his time.

Kropotkin considered his main contribution to science to be his work on the study of Asian mountain ranges. For them he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Russian Geographical Society. Kropotkin also contributed a great treasure to the study of the Ice Age.