Jabir Ibn Haiyan (Scientists)

the chemist Geber of the Middle Ages, is generally known as the father of chemistry. Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, sometimes called al-Harrani and al-Sufi, was the son of the druggist (Attar). The precise date of his birth is the subject of some discussion, but it is established that he practiced medicine and alchemy in Kufa around 776 C.E. He is reported to have studied under Imam Ja’far Sadiq and the Ummayed prince Khalid Ibn Yazid. In his early days, he practiced medicine and was under the patronage of the Barmaki Vizir during the Abbssid Caliphate of Haroon al-Rashid. He shared some of the effects of the downfall of the Barmakis and was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he died in 803 C.E.

Abul Wafa Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Ismail al-Buzjani (Scientists)

was born in Buzjan, Nishapur in 940 C.E. He flourished as a great mathematician and astronomer at Baghdad and died in 997/998 C.E. He learnt mathematics in Baghdad. In 959 C.E. he migrated to Iraq and lived there till his death.

Ibn Al-Baitar (Scientists)

full name (Abu Muhammad Abdallah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Baitar Dhiya al-Din al-Malaqi) was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and was the greatest botanist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages. He was born in the Spanish city of Malaqa (Malaga) towards the end of the 12th century. He learned botany from Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, a learned botanist, with whom he started collecting plants in and around Spain. In 1219 he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and travelled along the northern coast of Africa as far as Asia Minor. The exact modes of his travel (whether by land or sea) are not known, but the major stations he visited include Bugia, Qastantunia (Constantinople), Tunis, Tripoli, Barqa and Adalia. After 1224 he entered the service of al-Kamil, the Egyptian Governor, and was appointed chief herbalist. In 1227 al-Kamil extended his domination to Damascus, and Ibn al-Baitar accompanied him there which provided him an opportunity to collect plants in Syria His researches on plants extended over a vast area: including Arabia and Palestine, which he either visited or managed to collect plants from stations located there. He died in Damascus in 1248.

Ala-al-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali Ibn Abi al-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi (Scientists)

(known as Ibn Al-Nafis) was born in 1213 A.D. in Damascus. He was educated at the Medical College Hospital (Bimaristan Al-Noori) founded by Noor al-Din Al-Zanki. Apart from medicine, Ibn al-Nafis learned jurisprudence, literature and theology. He thus became a renowned expert on the Shafi’i School of Jurisprudence as well as a reputed physician.

Ibn Sina (Scientists)

was born in 980 C.E. in the village of Afshana near Bukhara which today is located in the far south of Russia. His father, Abdullah, an adherent of the Ismaili sect, was from Balkh and his mother from a village near Bukhara. In any age Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, would have been a giant among giants. He displayed exceptional intellectual prowess as a child and at the age of ten was already proficient in the Qur’an and the Arabic classics. During the next six years he devoted himself to Muslim Jurisprudence, Philosophy and Natural Science and studied Logic, Euclid, and the Almeagest.

Abu’l Waleed Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rushd (Scientists)

Known as Averroes in the West, was born in 1128 C.E. in Cordova, where his father and grandfather had both been judges. His grandfather was well versed in Fiqh (Maliki School) and was also the Imam of the Jamia Mosque of Cordova. The young Ibn Rushd received his education in Cordova and lived a quiet life, devoting most of his time to learned-pursuits. He studied philosophy and law from Abu J’afar Haroon and from Ibn Baja; he also studied medicine.

Carl August von Steinheil (Scientists)

was a Swiss physicist who is known for his electric clock, telegraph device and optical instruments, particularly telescopes with silver covered mirrors.

Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abdallah Ibn Idris al-Qurtubi al-Hasani (Scientists)

was born in Ceuta, Spain, in 1099 C.E. He was educated in Cordova. Later he traveled far and wide in connection with his studies and then flourished at the Norman court in Palermo. The date of his death is controversial, being either 1166 or 1180 C.E.

Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik Ibn Zuhr (Scientists)

was born at Seville in 1091/c. 1094 C.E. After completing his education and specializing in medicine, he entered the service of Almoravides (Al-Murabatun), but after their defeat by the Al-Mohades (Al-Muwahadun), he served under ‘Abd al-Mu’min, the first Muwahid ruler. He died in Seville in 1161/c. 1162 C.E. As confirmed by George Sarton, he was not a Jew, but an orthodox Muslim.

Ibn Zuhr was one of the greatest physicians and clinicians of the Muslim golden era and has rather been held by some historians of science as the greatest of them. Contrary to the general practice of the Muslim scholars of that era, he confined his work to only one field medicine. This enabled him to produce works of everlasting fame.

Abul Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahravi (Scientists)

(known in the west as Abulcasis) was born in 936 C.E. in Zahra in the neighbourhood of Cordova. He became one of the most renowned surgeons of the era and was physician to King Al-Hakam-II of Spain. After a long medical career, rich with significant original contribution, he died in 1013 C.E.

Sir Oliver Lodge (Scientists)

Oliver Joseph Lodge was born on June 12, 1851, at ‘The Views’ Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He was the eldest son from 12 children of Oliver Lodge (his father was also Oliver) and Grace nee Heath. His father was a supplier of pottery materials and the family was prolific.

Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Jabir Ibn Sinan al-Battani al-Harrani (Scientists)

was born around 858 C.E. in Harran, and according to one account, in Battan, a State of Harran. Battani was first educated by his father Jabir Ibn San’an al-Battani, who was also a well-known scientist. He then moved to Raqqa, situated on the bank of the Euphrates, where he received advanced education and later on flourished as a scholar. At the beginning of the 9th century, he migrated to Samarra, where he worked till the end of his life in 929 C.E. He was of Sabian origin, but was himself a Muslim.

David Attenborough (Scientists)

David was brought up in Leicester and went to Clare College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences; after graduating in 1947, he was called up for 2 years national service in the Navy. David Attenborough is one of the most widely respected TV broadcasters and has become known as the face and voice of natural history documentaries. His career in broadcasting has stretched over more than a half a century to 1952. David is the younger brother of actor, Richard Attenborough.

Sir Alexander Fleming (Scientists)

(6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was born in East Ayrshire, Scotland in 1881. He was a biologist and pharmacologist most famous for his discovery of the antibiotic substance penicillin in 1928. He was awarded a Nobel Prize, jointly with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain for medicine in 1945

Professor Abdus Salam (Scientists)

Professor Abdus Salam one of the greatest exponents in physics of this century was born in a modest family of Jhang, in 1926. His father, Chaudhary Mohammad Husain served in Education department, Jhung. Salam received his early education in his native city doing Matric in 1940 and FSc in 1942. In 1944, he did BSc from Government College Lahore. He did MSc in 1945 and also attained MA Degree in Mathematics in 1946, Thus, Salam, has the credit of being double MA (Physics & Mathematics) at the age of only 20 years which is a record in the University of the Punjab, Lahore.

John M. Keynes (Scientists)

(June 5, 1883 – April 21, 1946) was one of the most influential economists of the twentieth Century. His groundbreaking work in the 1930s led to the development of a whole new economic discipline dedicated to macroeconomics.

Albert Einstein (Scientists)

Born in 1879, Ulm Germany, Albert Einstein was to become the most celebrated scientist of the twentieth Century. His theories were to lay the framework for new branches of physics. He also become well known as a humanitarian, speaking out against nuclear weapons - weapons he had indirectly contributed towards creating.

Louis Pasteur (Scientists)

(1822 - 1895) was born in Dole, eastern France. He was a conscientious and hard working student, if not exceptional. One of his professors called him 'mediocre'. He received a doctorate in 1847 and after obtaining posts at Strasbourg, Lille and Paris he spent much time researching aspects of Chemistry. One key discovery related to research on tartrate acid showing the crystals contained a mirror image of right-handed and left handed isomers.

Benjamin Franklin (Scientists)

was a scientist, ambassador, philosopher, statesmen, writer, businessman and celebrated free thinker and wit. He has often been referred to as 'America's renaissance man' and was emblematic of the fledgling American nation.

Sir Isaac Newton (Scientists)

was born on Christmas Day, in 1643, to a relatively poor farming family. His father died 3 months before he was born. His mother later remarried, but her second husband did not get on with Isaac; leading to friction between Isaac and his parents. The young Isaac attended school at King’s School, Grantham in Lincolnshire (where his signature is still inscribed in the walls.. Isaac was one of the top students, but before completing his studies his mother withdrew him from school, so Isaac could work as a farmer. It was only through the intervention of the headmaster that Isaac was able to return to finish his studies; he passed his final exams with very good results, and was able to go to Trinity College, Cambridge.