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A test tube labelled as his last breath went to Henry Ford. Thomas Edison He spotted an atmosphere on Venus during its 1761 transit. Mikhail Lomonosov He kept a pet elk that died after falling down some stairs. Tycho Brahe Born an Ogawa, he took his wife's family name on marrying. Hideki Yukawa His great book of medicines was printed only after he died. Li Shizhen Her French version of Newton's Principia is still in use. Émilie du Châtelet He said Edison reneged on a promised $50,000 bonus. Nikola Tesla He treated a boy for rabies without a medical licence. Louis Pasteur Tradition says he learned surgery from Divodasa of Kashi. Sushruta She wrote radio scripts about fish for the U.S. government. Rachel Carson Legend says he built a brass head that could talk. Roger Bacon His family fled Córdoba when the Almohads took the city. Maimonides Schoolmates called him "Dafty" for his odd homemade clothes. James Clerk Maxwell Legend says he saw his printed book on the day he died. Nicolaus Copernicus Translated in Baghdad, his work carried Indian numerals west. Brahmagupta A programming language and a pressure unit bear his name. Blaise Pascal A test tube labelled as his last breath went to Henry Ford. Thomas Edison He spotted an atmosphere on Venus during its 1761 transit. Mikhail Lomonosov He kept a pet elk that died after falling down some stairs. Tycho Brahe Born an Ogawa, he took his wife's family name on marrying. Hideki Yukawa His great book of medicines was printed only after he died. Li Shizhen Her French version of Newton's Principia is still in use. Émilie du Châtelet He said Edison reneged on a promised $50,000 bonus. Nikola Tesla He treated a boy for rabies without a medical licence. Louis Pasteur Tradition says he learned surgery from Divodasa of Kashi. Sushruta She wrote radio scripts about fish for the U.S. government. Rachel Carson Legend says he built a brass head that could talk. Roger Bacon His family fled Córdoba when the Almohads took the city. Maimonides Schoolmates called him "Dafty" for his odd homemade clothes. James Clerk Maxwell Legend says he saw his printed book on the day he died. Nicolaus Copernicus Translated in Baghdad, his work carried Indian numerals west. Brahmagupta A programming language and a pressure unit bear his name. Blaise Pascal His books were burned and he was exiled, then called back. Averroes He built a robot band that played music on a boat. Ismail al-Jazari Legend says he got a fatal chill stuffing a hen with snow. Francis Bacon Dying at twenty-nine, she had her papers sent to a friend. Wang Zhenyi John Glenn asked her to personally recheck his orbit math. Katherine Johnson A priest's son, he quit the seminary for a life in science. Ivan Pavlov He scribbled a famous theorem in a margin without a proof. Pierre de Fermat Ancient sources call her a pupil of Pythagoras in Croton. Theano His Canon of Medicine was still taught in Europe in 1650. Avicenna She claimed to pull down the Moon, timing it to eclipses. Aglaonice At seven she took apart seven alarm clocks to see inside. Grace Hopper He packed Sanskrit grammar into nearly four thousand rules. Panini Legend says he faked madness to escape an angry caliph. Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) He passed the imperial exams and later ran the observatory. Shen Kuo He served as a palace eunuch at the Han court from about 75. Cai Lun Doctors gave him two years to live when he was twenty-one. Stephen Hawking His books were burned and he was exiled, then called back. Averroes He built a robot band that played music on a boat. Ismail al-Jazari Legend says he got a fatal chill stuffing a hen with snow. Francis Bacon Dying at twenty-nine, she had her papers sent to a friend. Wang Zhenyi John Glenn asked her to personally recheck his orbit math. Katherine Johnson A priest's son, he quit the seminary for a life in science. Ivan Pavlov He scribbled a famous theorem in a margin without a proof. Pierre de Fermat Ancient sources call her a pupil of Pythagoras in Croton. Theano His Canon of Medicine was still taught in Europe in 1650. Avicenna She claimed to pull down the Moon, timing it to eclipses. Aglaonice At seven she took apart seven alarm clocks to see inside. Grace Hopper He packed Sanskrit grammar into nearly four thousand rules. Panini Legend says he faked madness to escape an angry caliph. Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) He passed the imperial exams and later ran the observatory. Shen Kuo He served as a palace eunuch at the Han court from about 75. Cai Lun Doctors gave him two years to live when he was twenty-one. Stephen Hawking Looking for someone?
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