April 26

Chŏng Mong-ju (1338–1392) was a distinguished scholar-official and diplomat in the Goryeo dynasty. He served as prime minister and envoys, negotiating with the Ming dynasty in China. A renowned Confucian scholar, he authored works on governance and ethics. He is celebrated for his unwavering loyalty to Goryeo, resisting the rise of the Yi clan. He was assassinated in 1392, an event that paved the way for the Joseon dynasty. He is venerated as a paragon of loyalty and integrity in Korean history.

Jean Fernel was born in 1497 in France and became one of the foremost physicians of the Renaissance. He is credited with coining the term 'physiology' to describe the study of natural functions in living organisms. His comprehensive work, De naturali parte medicinae, laid the foundation for modern medical terminology and anatomy. Fernel served as physician to King Francis I and improved clinical practices by emphasizing empirical observation. His studies of the human body and measurements of the Earth's circumference demonstrated his diverse intellectual interests and lasting impact on both medicine and science.

Born in Erode in 1887, Ramanujan displayed extraordinary mathematical talent from a young age. Largely self-educated, he developed novel theorems on partitions, modular forms, and infinite series. In 1914, he traveled to Cambridge University to collaborate with G. H. Hardy, producing groundbreaking results. Despite chronic health issues, he published numerous papers that earned him election to the Royal Society. He returned to India in 1919 and continued his work until his untimely death in 1920 at age 32. Ramanujan’s legacy endures through the deep impact his formulas and conjectures have on modern number theory.

Born in 1874 in Cologne, Bosch studied chemistry and engineering at Leipzig and Karlsruhe. At BASF, he scaled up Fritz Haber's ammonia synthesis for industrial fertilizer production, revolutionizing agriculture. His advances in high-pressure chemistry also impacted petrochemical and explosives industries. Bosch became chairman of IG Farben, promoting partnerships between industry and academic research. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1931 for his development of high-pressure chemical methods. Bosch continued to influence chemical engineering until his death in 1940.

Born in Germany in 1909, Sigmund Rascher joined the SS as a research physician, seeking recognition for his hypothermia and high-altitude experiments. He performed unethical human trials on inmates at Dachau concentration camp, causing severe suffering and death. Rascher's work was endorsed by senior Nazi officials, but it lacked scientific rigor and moral accountability. In 1944, he was arrested by the Gestapo on charges of corruption and fraudulent research practices. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1945, leaving a legacy of medical atrocities that shattered medical ethics.

Born in 1868, Arnold Sommerfeld held professorships at several German universities, most notably Munich. He extended Niels Bohr's atomic model by introducing elliptical electron orbits and additional quantum numbers. Sommerfeld's theories laid crucial groundwork for the development of quantum mechanics. He mentored many students who later won Nobel Prizes, including Heisenberg and Pauli. Sommerfeld continued to advance theoretical physics until his death in 1951, leaving a profound scientific legacy.

Edward Max Nicholson was an Irish-born environmentalist, writer, and civil servant who helped pioneer the modern conservation movement. Born in 1904, he served in the British Civil Service before focusing on environmental policy and wildlife protection. In 1961, he co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), establishing one of the world’s leading conservation organizations. Nicholson championed ecosystem science, sustainable land use, and international collaboration to protect endangered species. He authored several influential books and reports on ecology and biodiversity, shaping environmental policy in the UK and beyond. Nicholson’s work led to the creation of numerous wildlife reserves and environmental agencies worldwide. His legacy endures in the ongoing efforts of WWF and the global conservation community.

Gerald Guralnik was a key figure in the development of particle physics theory during the 1960s. Alongside Richard Hagen and Tom Kibble, he formulated the GHK mechanism explaining mass generation in gauge theories. Their work laid the foundation for the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson decades later. Guralnik conducted research at Brown University and later at the University of Rochester, mentoring many students. He authored numerous scientific papers and contributed to understanding symmetry breaking in quantum field theory. His theoretical insights remain central to modern high-energy physics and the Standard Model.