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As far back as 500 B.C. alchemists searched for the Philosopher's Stone, which had the ability to transform base materials like copper or lead, into valuable substances, like gold. They also searched for the Elixir of Life, which when drunk by a particular person, would grant him immortality.
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Democritus (Greece) - stated that all matter is made up of atoms. He also stated that atoms are eternal and invisible and so small that they can’t be divided, and they entirely fill up the space they’re in.
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Aristotle (Greece) - provided the method of gathering scientific facts, which proved as the basis for all scientific work.
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Lavoisier (1777), France - provided the formula for the conservation of matter in chemical reactions, and also distinguished between an element and a compound.
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Couloumb (1780's), France - formulated the Coulomb's law, which states that that 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, one of the main forces involved in atomic reactions.
