callings of the archive
Astronomer Biographies
Every archived life recorded as astronomer, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Ancient era
Thales of Miletus
c. 650 BCE – 548 BCE
Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician
Ancient era
Archimedes
287 BCE – 212 BCE
Greatest mathematician of antiquity, pioneer of mechanics and hydrostatics
Ancient era
Eratosthenes
276 BCE – 194 BCE
Greek mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, librarian and music theorist
Ancient era
Claudius Ptolemy
100 CE – 170 CE
2nd-century Roman mathematician, astronomer, geographer
Ancient era
Hypatia
360 CE – 415 CE
Alexandrian mathematician and philosopher, martyr of ancient learning
Ancient era
Aryabhata
476 CE – 550 CE
Pioneer astronomer who formulated zero, quadratic rules, and earth's rotation.
Early Modern era
Leonardo da Vinci
April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519
Renaissance polymath — painter of the Mona Lisa, engineer, and anatomist
Early Modern era
Galileo Galilei
February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642
Astronomer and physicist, father of observational science
Early Modern era
Isaac Newton
December 25, 1642 – March 31, 1727
Physicist and mathematician who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation
Medieval era
Nicolaus Copernicus
February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543
Polish mathematician and astronomer (1473-1543)
Early Modern era
Tycho Brahe
December 14, 1546 – October 24, 1601
Danish astronomer and alchemist, 1546–1601
Early Modern era
Edmond Halley
November 8, 1656 – January 14, 1742
English astronomer, mathematician, geophysicist, meteorologist and physicist (1656–1742)
Early Modern era
William Herschel
November 15, 1738 – August 15, 1822
German-born British astronomer and composer (1738–1822)
Early Modern era
Caroline Herschel
March 16, 1750 – January 9, 1848
German-British astronomer (1750-1848)
Modern era
Edwin Hubble
November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953
American astronomer (1889–1953)
Modern era
Vera Rubin
July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016
American astronomer and physicist (1928-2016)
Early Modern era
Carl Friedrich Gauss
April 30, 1777 – February 23, 1855
German mathematician and physicist (1777–1855)
Medieval era
Al-Khwarizmi
c. 750 CE – 846 CE
Mathematician of Baghdad who gave the world algebra and algorithms
Medieval era
Ibn al-Haytham
965 CE – 1038
Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer (c. 965 – c. 1040)
Medieval era
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
980 CE – June 18, 1037
Persian polymath whose Canon of Medicine taught Europe for 600 years
Modern era
Lord Kelvin
June 26, 1824 – December 17, 1907
British physicist and engineer (1824–1907)
Early Modern era
Christiaan Huygens
April 14, 1629 – July 8, 1695
Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1629–1695)
Early Modern era
Robert Hooke
July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703
English natural philosopher, architect and polymath (1635 — 1703)
Modern era
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
October 19, 1910 – August 21, 1995
Indian-American astrophysicist
Modern era
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
July 4, 1868 – December 12, 1921
American astronomer and human calculator (1868–1921)
Modern era
Annie Jump Cannon
December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941
American astronomer (1863-1941)
Early Modern era
Anders Celsius
November 27, 1701 – April 25, 1744
Swedish astronomer, physicist, and naturalist (1701-1744)
Medieval era
Paracelsus
November 10, 1493 – September 24, 1541
Swiss physician, philosopher, theologian, and alchemist (c. 1493–1541)
Early Modern era
Benjamin Banneker
November 9, 1731 – October 9, 1806
Free African American scientist, surveyor, almanac author and farmer (1731–1806)
Medieval era
Omar Khayyam
May 18, 1048 – December 4, 1131
Persian mathematician and poet (1048–1131)
Medieval era
Maimonides
March 30, 1138 – December 13, 1204
Medieval Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204)
Medieval era
Averroes
April 14, 1126 – December 10, 1198
Arab Andalusian Muslim writer and philosopher (1126–1198)
Early Modern era
Christopher Wren
October 20, 1632 – March 8, 1723
English architect (1632–1723)
Medieval era
Jang Yeong-sil
b. c. 1400
Korean mechanical engineer, scientist and inventor
Medieval era
Alfonso X of Castile
November 23, 1221 – April 4, 1284
King of Castile from 1252 to 1284
Medieval era
Ziryab
777 CE – 857 CE
9th-century poet and musician
Pope Sylvester II
d. May 12, 1003
Pope of the Catholic Church from 938 to 1003
Medieval era
Nicholas of Cusa
1401 – August 11, 1464
German philosopher (1401 – 1464)
Medieval era
Gerard of Cremona
1114 – 1187
Italian translator and astrologer (c. 1114 – 1187)
Medieval era
Adelard of Bath
1075 – 1160
12th-century English natural philosopher
Medieval era
Georg von Peurbach
May 30, 1423 – April 8, 1461
Austrian mathematician and astronomer (1423-1461)
Medieval era
Paolo Toscanelli
April 21, 1397 – May 10, 1482
Florentine astronomer
Medieval era
Martin Behaim
October 6, 1459 – July 29, 1507
German navigator and geographer to the King of Portugal (1459–1507)
Ancient era
Berossus
c. 400 BCE – c. 300 BCE
3rd-century BC Babylonian writer, priest and astronomer
Ancient era
Kidinnu
400 BCE – 330 BCE
Babylonian astronomer, possible creator of Babylonian System B ephemerides
Ancient era
Pappus of Alexandria
290 CE – 350 CE
4th century Greek mathematician
Modern era
Meghnad Saha
October 6, 1893 – February 16, 1956
Bengali astrophysicist (1893–1956)
Modern era
Vainu Bappu
August 10, 1927 – August 19, 1982
Indian astronomer (1927-1982)
Ancient era
Anaximander
620 BCE – 547 BCE
Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher
Ancient era
Anaxagoras
500 BCE – 428 BCE
5th-century BC Greek philosopher
Ancient era
Aristarchus of Samos
310 BCE – 230 BCE
Greek astronomer and mathematician (c.310–c.230 BC)
Ancient era
Hipparchus
190 BCE – 120 BCE
2nd century Greek astronomer, geographer and mathematician
Ancient era
Zhang Heng
78 CE – 139 CE
Chinese scientist and statesman (78–139)
Early Modern era
John Napier
February 1, 1550 – April 4, 1617
Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (1550–1617)
Early Modern era
John Harrison
March 24, 1693 – March 24, 1776
British clockworker
Early Modern era
Pierre-Simon Laplace
March 23, 1749 – March 5, 1827
French mathematician and astronomer (1749–1827)
Early Modern era
Joseph-Louis Lagrange
January 25, 1736 – April 10, 1813
Mathematician and astronomer (1736–1813)
Modern era
Henri Poincare
April 29, 1854 – July 17, 1912
French mathematician, physicist and engineer (1854–1912)
Modern era
Arthur Eddington
December 28, 1882 – November 22, 1944
British astrophysicist (1882-1944)
Modern era
Leon Foucault
September 18, 1819 – February 11, 1868
French physicist (1819–1868)