List of people considered father or mother of a scientific field
Those known as the father or mother of a scientific field are considered to be the founder of that scientific field. In some fields several people are considered the founders, while in others the title of being the "mother" or "father" is debatable. The father of science is Thales.Father of Natural sciences
Biology
| Subject | Father/mother of … | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteriology | Robert Koch, Ferdinand Cohn, Louis Pasteur (founders) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek |
For their studies and scientific findings on bacteria and algae. First to produce precise, correct descriptions of bacteria. |
| Biogeography | Alfred Russel Wallace | Wallace shows the impact of human activity on the natural world. |
| Biology | Aristotle | |
| Entomology | Jan Swammerdam (founder) Johan Christian Fabricius William Kirby |
(Fabricius): Described and published information on over 10,000 insects, and refined Linnaeus's system of classification. |
| Evolution | Charles Darwin | Publication: On the Origin of Species |
| Genetics | Gregor Mendel William Bateson (founder) |
For his study of the inheritance of traits in pea plants, which forms the basis for Mendelian inheritance. Proponent of Mendelism. |
| Ichthyology | Peter Artedi | |
| Lichenology | Erik Acharius | |
| Microbiology | Antonie van Leeuwenhoek | The first to microscopically observe micro-organisms in water and the first to see bacteria |
| Molecular biology | Linus Pauling | |
| Molecular biophysics | Gopalasamudram Narayana Iyer Ramachandran | Founded the Molecular Biophysics Unit (1970) |
| Natural selection | Charles Darwin | Publication: On the Origin of Species |
| Neuroscience | Santiago Ramón y Cajal (founder) |
For his formation of neuron doctrine |
| Paleontology | George Cuvier | |
| Protozoology | Antonie van Leeuwenhoek | First to produce precise, correct descriptions of protozoa. |
| Taxonomy | Carolus Linnaeus (founder) |
Naming of living organisms that became universally accepted in the scientific world |
| Toxicology | Paracelsus | |
| Virology | Martinus Beijerinck (founder) |
His studies of agricultural microbiology and industrial microbiology yielded fundamental discoveries in the field of biology |
