1889-1953


American astronomer who changed our view of the Universe. He established the nature of galaxies determing that they were outside our own Milky Way and hundred of thousand times as far away as the nearest stars.

His observation in 1929 that the universe is expanding at a constant rate led to the conclusion that the Universe originated in a Big Bang, thousand of millions of years in the past.
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Humboldt, Alexander

1769-1859


German scholar famous for his study of earth sciences and as the originator of ecology.

He was a naturalist, botanist, zoologist, author, cartographer, artist and sociologist. He also researched mineralogy, astronomy and forestry and explored areas from Latin America to the Urals and Sibiria.

Alexander von Humboldt was once described as the 'last universal scholar in the field of the natural sciences'.

In the Americas Humboldt's influence is much more prevalent than in Germany. There are at least eight townships throughout North America named Humboldt City.
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Huxley, Thomas Henry

1825-1895


English scientist renowned for his defense of Darwinism and interest in educational reforms.

His popular lectures were an important factor in the acceptance of the theory of evolution by both scientists and the public. He also wrote many scientific papers, one of which led to the formulation of the zoological class Hydrozoa.
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Huyghens, Christian

1629-1695


Dutch astronomer and mathematician. He was compelled to leave Paris by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He had been invited to France by Colbert, and during his residence there, visited England and was made Fellow of the Royal Society.

Huyghens founded the wave theory of light and invented the pendulum clock. Early on he improved the telescope and discovered the true shape of the rings of Saturn. The need for acurate timepieces in the field of astronomy prompted him to improve the accuracy of clocks.
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