Unified gravity, motion, and light into mathematical laws that governed the universe for 200 years
Founded modern chemistry by identifying oxygen and establishing the law of conservation of mass
Established deep time: the Earth is billions of years old, not thousands, revolutionising geology and enabling Darwin
Evolution by natural selection explains the origin and diversity of all life on Earth
Discovered radioactivity and polonium; first person to win two Nobel Prizes in two different sciences
Proved the universe is expanding beyond the Milky Way, establishing the Big Bang framework
Decoded the double-helix structure of DNA, revealing how life copies itself
Proposed the Big Bang theory of the universe's origin; a Belgian priest who changed cosmology