December 28

Martin Eisengrein was born in 1535 in Bavaria and entered the priesthood specializing in theology. He taught at the University of Ingolstadt and became a leading voice against Protestantism. Eisengrein authored several influential treatises defending Catholic doctrine. His scholarly work contributed to the Council of Trent’s reforms and Catholic renewal in Germany. He died in 1578, remembered as a dedicated educator and reform-minded theologian.

Eliza Lucas was born in 1722 on the island of Antigua in the British Caribbean. After moving to South Carolina, she took charge of her family’s plantations at age 16. Lucas conducted botanical experiments that led to the successful cultivation of indigo. Her efforts transformed indigo into a major cash crop, boosting the colony’s economy. She corresponded with leading intellectuals and became one of America’s earliest agricultural scientists. She died in 1793, leaving a legacy as a pioneering female agronomist in colonial America.

Born in Dundee in 1798, Thomas Henderson studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of St Andrews. In 1832 he became the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland, stationed at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh. Henderson's landmark work included the first recorded parallax measurement of Alpha Centauri, proving the immense distances of stars. He authored important texts on celestial mechanics and trigonometry that became references for later astronomers. His contributions laid the groundwork for precise stellar mapping and modern astrometry.

Born in Frankfurt in 1818, Carl Remigius Fresenius is often regarded as the father of analytical chemistry. He served as a professor at the Polytechnikum in Wiesbaden and wrote foundational textbooks on qualitative analysis. In 1862 he established what became the Fresenius Laboratory, training generations of chemists in rigorous analytical methods. His systematic approach standardized chemical assays and advanced quality control in industry and academia. Fresenius's methods and teachings influenced laboratories worldwide, cementing his legacy in chemical science.

Arthur Eddington was one of the leading astrophysicists of the early 20th century. In 1919, he led a landmark expedition to observe a solar eclipse in Principe Island, confirming the bending of starlight by the Sun's gravity and providing the first empirical support for Einstein's general relativity. He introduced the concept of the Eddington limit, setting the maximum luminosity of stars. His 1926 book, 'The Internal Constitution of the Stars,' helped establish the field of stellar structure. Eddington was Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge and later Plumian Professor at the University of Cambridge. He also championed popular science, striving to make complex theories accessible. His work laid the foundations for modern astrophysics.

Werner Kolhörster was a German physicist who conducted groundbreaking studies on cosmic radiation. In the 1910s, he launched ionization chambers in high-altitude balloons to measure atmospheric radiation, providing definitive evidence that cosmic rays originate from outer space. His experiments laid the foundation for modern astrophysics and atmospheric physics. Kolhörster served as a university professor and published influential papers on ionizing radiation. He also contributed to the development of meteorological research, exploring the interactions between cosmic rays and weather patterns. His work earned him recognition in both physics and geophysics communities. Kolhörster's legacy continues in contemporary studies of high-energy particles and their role in Earth’s atmosphere.

Quincy Wright was a distinguished American scholar in political science and international law. His 1942 work, 'A Study of War,' offered an encyclopedic analysis of armed conflict across civilizations and became a foundational text in war studies. As a professor at the University of Chicago, he mentored numerous students and promoted interdisciplinary research. Wright served as president of the American Political Science Association and influenced U.S. foreign policy through his expertise. He conducted pioneering studies on international organizations and legal frameworks governing warfare. His emphasis on empirical data and statistical methods bridged theory and practice. Wright's legacy endures in peace research and the ongoing quest to understand and prevent conflict.

Carl-Gustaf Rossby was a pioneering meteorologist whose identification of large-scale atmospheric waves, known as Rossby waves, revolutionized weather prediction. Born in Stockholm, he earned his doctorate before moving to the U.S., where he joined the University of Chicago faculty. Rossby’s research clarified the behavior of the jet stream and mid-latitude weather systems, laying groundwork for numerical weather modeling. During World War II, he led research for the U.S. Weather Bureau, enhancing forecasts critical to military operations. Rossby founded the Department of Meteorology at MIT and mentored generations of atmospheric scientists. His contributions earned him the inaugural Charles Franklin Brooks Award among other honors. Today, Rossby waves remain central to studies of climate dynamics and weather forecasting.

John von Neumann was a child prodigy from Budapest who became one of the giants of 20th-century science. He formulated the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics and made major advances in set theory and operator algebras. Von Neumann was a co-founder of game theory, publishing the groundbreaking 'Theory of Games and Economic Behavior'. During World War II, he worked on the Manhattan Project and helped develop nuclear weapons. He conceived the stored-program computer model known as the 'von Neumann architecture'. Von Neumann was a professor at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study and the University of California, Los Angeles. His interdisciplinary work laid the groundwork for modern economics, computing, and systems theory.

Ze'ev Ben-Haim was born in Ukraine and emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in the 1920s. He became a leading authority on Hebrew linguistics and the historical development of Semitic languages. Ben-Haim served as a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and headed its Department of Semitic Languages. He published seminal works on Hebrew morpheme structure and the lexicon of ancient inscriptions. Ben-Haim received the Israel Prize in 1969 for his lifelong contributions to Hebrew studies. He led numerous linguistic committees that shaped modern Hebrew grammar and orthography. His research continues to influence linguists, historians, and scholars of ancient Near Eastern texts.

Born in 1929 in the Netherlands, Maarten Schmidt earned his Ph.D. in astronomy before joining Caltech's Mount Wilson Observatory in 1956. In 1963, he identified the first quasar, 3C 273, by recognizing its unusually high redshift, proving that quasars were distant and extremely luminous. His breakthrough work laid the foundation for modern extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. Schmidt received numerous honors, including the Bruce Medal and a Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. He continued teaching and researching at Caltech for decades, influencing generations of astronomers until his death in 2022.

Sandra Faber is an American astronomer whose research has shaped our understanding of galaxy formation. She co-developed the Faber–Jackson relation linking galaxy luminosity to stellar velocity dispersion. Faber has contributed key instruments for the Hubble Space Telescope and advanced studies of dark matter distribution. She holds a professorship at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has received honors including the National Medal of Science. Faber is also a mentor and advocate for women in the sciences.