Modern society is unthinkable without scientific achievements, techniques and technologies. Over the past 100 years, these inventions have radically changed the life of man and his ideas about the surrounding universe. American scientists made a great contribution to the development of science, some of them will be discussed in this article.
Famous American inventors Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is considered the most famous American scientist of the 18th century. He made a great contribution to the development of politics and national culture, but he is best known for his love of experiments with electric current. He invented the lightning rod and put forward several theories related to electricity. In addition, his inventions include bifocal lenses, a urinary catheter and a speedometer.
Another famous American scientist and inventor is Thomas Edison (1847-1931). On account of this man more than 1000 different inventions. The most famous of these is the incandescent lamp. A large number of his inventions belong to the fieldsradio electronics and cinematography. It is curious to note that if you divide all of Edison's discoveries by the time of his life (with the exception of childhood), it turns out that he invented something new every two weeks.
Americans who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
The list of American scientists who have received the Nobel Prize in Physics is quite long. Here is a list of the most famous personalities who have been awarded this high award over the past 15 years:
- David J. Gross, H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczek. These scientists received an award in 2004 for research in the field of strong interaction physics.
- Roy J. Glauber. Became a Nobel laureate in 2005 for research in the field of quantum theory and coherence in optics.
- John C. Mather and George Smoot. These scientists received an award in 2006 for space research, in particular for the discovery of the anisotropy of cosmic radiation.
- Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess. All these scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011 for their discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe through observations of supernovae.
- The 2017 Physics Prize was awarded for research by American scientists in the field of gravitational waves. It was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne.
American Nobel Laureates in Chemistry
Over the past 15 years, many American scientists have received the Nobel Prize for achievements in chemistry. Here is a list of names and the corresponding scope of discoveries:
- Irwin Rose. American biochemist who received an award in 2004 for his research on ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation.
- Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock. These scientists received an award in 2005 for developing the method of organic metathesis synthesis.
- Roger D. Kornberg. The American scientist became a laureate in 2006 for his study of eukaryotes.
- Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien. American biochemists, were awarded in 2008. The prize went to them for their research on green fluorescent protein.
- Thomas A. Steitz. Nobel Laureate 2009. Awarded for comprehensive research into the structure and properties of the ribosome.
- Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka. Scientists received an award in 2012 for research on receptors attached to the so-called G protein.
If we talk about the Nobel Prizes for American scientists in chemistry in the first half of the 20th century, it should be noted Theodore William Richards (Theodore William Richards, 1914), who was awarded for determining the atomic mass of many chemical elements, as well as Harold Clayton Urey (Harold Clayton Urey, 1934), who discovered heavyhydrogen deuterium.
Americans who distinguished themselves by their work in the field of medicine
Here is a list of famous American Nobel laureates in medicine since the 20th century:
- Thomas H. Morgan. 1933 Prize for the discovery of the important role of chromosomes in the inheritance of genetic information.
- Joseph Erlanger and Herbert S. Gasser. These scientists became laureates in 1944 for their research on nerve fibers.
- Selman A. Waksman. 1952 Prize for research on the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis, streptomycin.
- Peyton Rous and Charles B. Huggins. 1966 laureates who were awarded for discovering the hormonal treatment for prostate cancer.
- David B altimore, Renato Dulbecco, Howard M. Temin. These scientists received an award in 1975 for their research on how cancer viruses interact with the genetic material of a cell.
- Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein. They won the award in 1985. Received an award for the discovery of cholesterol metabolism.
Speaking of modern American scientists, it should be noted Bruce Beutler, who became a Nobel laureate in 2011 for his contribution to the development of immunology, and John O'Keefe, who won the award in 2014 for brain research.
Americans who distinguished themselves in the fieldliterature
The number of American scientists who received the Nobel Prize in Literature during the 20th century is significantly smaller than the number of American laureates in the natural sciences. So, for the XX and XXI centuries, only 10 Americans were awarded this title. The most famous of these are Ernest Hemingway (1954 prize for The Old Man and the Sea), Joseph Brodsky (1987 prize for The History of the 20th Century) and Toni Morrison (1993 prize for The Beloved).
