Evolution of the Electron

Democritus

400 BCE

the laughing philosopher, Democritus, was born in 460 BC. Democritus was a very knowledgeable Greek philosopher. In 400 BC, Democritus stated that matter was made up of smaller, identical particles. These ideas did not come from experiments, only his ideas. Democritus passed away in 370 BC.
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Aristotle

350 BCE

BC scientist Aristotle was a talent of many different sciences. Aristotle was born on 384 BC. Aristotle believed that matter was fundamentally constructed from atoms, and that they were indivisible and of different shapes and sizes. Aristotle's discoveries and knowledge was passed on for generations and still is used today. The Greek scientist died on 322 BC.
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Isaac Newton

1665

English knight, Isaac Newton, was a noble scientist of his time. Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642, and lived until March 20, 1727. Through his time, Isaac's most noble discovery was atomic pressure. Newton stated three laws of motion which became the law of universal gravitation. The forces he described in his discovery led to the naming of atomic pressure in 1665.
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Charles Augustin de Coulomb

1784

Charles Augustin de Coulomb was a French scientist who was born on June 14, 1736, and died on August 23, 1806. The name of this scientist may sound familiar as he has a unit of electric charge named after him. Coulomb made the "Coulomb Law." Coulomb's law states, "the force between two electrical charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them." The force described is a principal force in atomic reactions.
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Antoine Lavoisier

1794

Being born on August 26, 1743, as the only child of the wealthy French Lavoisier family, Antoine Lavoisier became a noble scientist after his prestigious education at the University of Paris. In his works, Lavoisier found that the total mass of products and reactants in chemical reactions always are the same. His famous discovery in 1794 became one of the first major discoveries in chemical reactions. Antoine died on May 8, 1794.
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Joseph Proust

1794

Spanish chevalier Joseph Proust was born on September 26, 1754. Proust was a noble Spanish scientist who proved the law of definite proportions, a major part of the atomic theory. In addition to his major discovery, Proust also applied his research to work on explosives. 7 years before his death, Proust became a chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1819. Joseph Proust died on July 5, 1826.
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John Dalton

1808

The English scientist John Dalton was born on September 5, 1766. In 1806, John Dalton made his big discovery. Dalton's atomic theory proposed that all matter was composed of atoms, indivisible and indestructible building blocks. For his revolutionizing discovery, Dalton was awarded a Nobel Prize. Dalton died on July 27, 1844.
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William Crookes

1861

A scientist of many discoveries, William Crookes was born on June 17, 1832, in England. Through the time of his work, Crookes discovered the element of Thallium. Crookes also established the fundamentals of atomic physics. In another one of Crookes's tests, he studied the effects of sending an electric current through a gas in a sealed test tube. Additionally, William Crookes became a knight of England. The noble scientist dies on April 4, 1919.
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James Maxwell

1865

A Scottish scientist, James Maxwell was born on June 13, 1831. Maxwell loved his family and his parents; however, Maxwell's time with his mother fell short when she died of cancer when he was 8. Maxwell played a major role in the development of the structure of atoms. He made the electromagnetic theory and introduced the concept, electromagnetic radiation. leading to the quantum theory in the 20th century which helped make the structure of atoms. Maxwell died on November 5, 1879.

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JJ Thompson

1897

A noble prize laureate, JJ Thompson was born on December 18, 1856. At the age of 41 years old, JJ Thompson discovered the subatomic particle, the electron. This noble discovery earned him a Nobel Prize. Living to the age of 84, Thompson passed away on August 30, 1940.
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Marie Curie

1898

Many knew this person as the person who said, "let them eat cake." However, there was a lot more to French/Polish scientist Marie Curie. In her time, Marie Curie discovered the elements of Radium and Polonium in 1898. In addition to her discoveries, Curie was also a human rights activist. Marie Curie lived to the age of 67 years old, was born on November 7, 1867, and died on July 4, 1934.
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Max Planck

1900

Born on April 23, 1858, German Scientist Max Planck made very large discoveries in the quantum field. The word quantum may sound familiar to Marvel fans. The possibility of Ant-Man traveling to the quantum realm wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Planck. Planck discovered quantum action in 1900 and created the quantum theory. While Max Planck was a noble scientist, he was also a gifted pianist and almost chose music as his profession. Planck died on October 4, 1947.
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Albert Einstein

1905

The American/German scientist Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. As a child, Einstein lived in 4 different countries. Einstein is widely known for his math equation, E=mc2. In addition to this equation, Einstein mathematically proved the existence of atoms in 1905. Additionally, he discovered the photoelectric effect. Albert Einstein won a noble prize in 1921. The great scientist passed away on April 18, 1955.
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Robert Millikan

1910

American scientist Robert Millikan was born on March 22, 1868. Robert Millikan is well known for his discovery of the charge of a single electron in 1910. Although Millikan made this great scientific discovery, he wasn't just a scientist. Millikan worked as a court reporter throughout his life. Additionally, his favorite subject in school was the greek language. Millikan died on the 19th of December, 1953.
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Ernest Rutherford

1911

A member of the 11 Rutherford kids, Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871. In 1911, Rutherford conducted his gold foil experiment. Through his experiment, he discovered that the atom has a small, positively charged nucleus. Thus, he discovered the presence of the proton. Ernest Rutherford passed away on October 19, 1937.
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Niels Bohr

1913

Born on October 7, 1885, Denmark scientist Niels Bohr was the son of a two-time nominee for a noble prize. Niels Bohr was a part of an upper-class family. In 1913, Bohr stated that electrons move in orbits around the nucleus of an atom. Bohr won a noble prize for his discovery. Niels Bohr passed away on November 18, 1962. Source

Frederick Soddy

1913

Nobel prize laureate, Frederick Soddy, was born on September 2, 1877. In 1913, Frederick Soddy discovered that all radioactive preparations were not unique elements, but rather that some of them were variants of known elements. Additionally, he helped to discover protactinium. Soddy did not grow up wealthy, but he did not let that stop him from being great. Frederick Soddy died on September 22, 1956.
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Francis William Aston

1922

When he was born on September 1, 1877, Francis Aston was the third child of his parents. His parents would go on to have 4 more kids. Francis Aston is widely known for his discovery of 212 of the naturally occurring isotopes. Aston won a Nobel prize for this discovery in 1922. Aston also formulated the whole number rule that isotopes have masses are integer values of the mass of the hydrogen atom. Aston died on November 20, 1945.
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Louis deBroglie

1924

The French scientist Louis deBroglie was born on August 15, 1892. In 1924, deBroglie made a very important discovery about electrons. That they located outside the nucleus in waves. Louis won a noble prize for his discovery. IN addition to being a noble scientist, deBroglie worked in a very notable location, the top of the Eifel Tower. Louis deBroglie died on March 19, 1987.
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Werner Heisenberg

1925

German scientist Werner Heisenberg was born on December 5, 1901. In 1925, Heisenberg stated that you can’t determine the speed and position of electrons. This revolutionary discovery won him a Nobel Prize. After his discoveries, Heisenberg went on an adventure when he was captured by American troops at the end of World War 2. Heisenberg passed away on February 1, 1976.
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Erwin Schrodinger

1926

The Austrian scientist, Erwin Schrodinger, was born on August 12, 1887. Through his studies of science, Schrodinger contributed to the modern day atom model. In 1926, he formulated a wave equation that accurately calculated the energy levels of electrons in atoms. While he was a noble scientist, Schrodinger was also a lover of poetry. Schrodinger died on January 4, 1961.
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