Georges Lemaître, Belgian Catholic priest (1894-1966), c. 1933. He proposed the theory of the expansion of the universe, widely misattributed to Edwin Hubble. He was the first to derive what is now known as Hubble’s law and made the first estimation of what is now called the Hubble constant, which he published in 1927, two years before Hubble’s article. Lemaître also proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe, which he called his “hypothesis of the primeval atom” or the “Cosmic Egg”[public domain / Wikimedia Commons]
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[asterisk after dates signifies a Catholic priest]
Acoustics Joseph Henry (1797-1878)
Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919)
Aerodynamics / Aeronautics Francesco Lana de Terzi (c. 1631-1687*)
George Cayley (1773-1857)
Analysis Leonhard Euler (1707-1783)
Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789-1857)
Karl Weierstrass (1815-1897)
Anatomy Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
Anatomy, Comparative Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
Anesthesiology James Simpson (1811-1870)
Antiseptic Surgery Joseph Lister (1827-1912)
Applied Science Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
Astronautics Robert Goddard (1882-1945)
Hermann Oberth (1894-1989)
Astronomy, Big Bang Cosmology Georges Lemaître (1894-1966*)
Astronomy, Galactic William Herschel (1738-1822)
Astronomy, Heliocentric Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Astronomy, Physical Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Astronomy, Solar Arthur Stanley Eddington (1882-1944)
Atomic Theory Roger Boscovich (1711-1787*)
John Dalton (1766-1844)
Bacteriology Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Biochemistry Franciscus Sylvius (1614-1672)
Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794)
Biogeography Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
Biology / Natural History John Ray (1627-1705)
Biology, Molecular Oswald Avery (1877-1955)
George Wells Beadle (1903-1989)
Botany Otto Brunfels (1488–1534)
Carolus Clusius (1526-1609)
Carol Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Calculus Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Calculus, Infinitesimal Pierre de Fermat (c. 1607-1665)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
Cardiology William Harvey (1578-1657)
Chemistry Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Chemistry, Agricultural Joseph Henry Gilbert (1817-1901)
Chemistry, Isotopic William Ramsay (1852-1916)
Chemistry, Nuclear Otto Hahn (1879-1968)
Chemistry, Organic Thomas Anderson (1819-1874)
Chemistry, Physical Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903)
Computer Science Charles Babbage (1792-1871)
George Boole (1815-1864)
Cryology Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)
Cytology Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
Jean Baptiste Carnoy (1836–1899)
Dimensional Analysis Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919)
Dynamics Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Ecology Carol Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Electrical Engineering William Gilbert (1544-1603)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Electrochemistry Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)
Humphrey Davy (1778-1829)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Electrodynamics André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836)
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
Electromagnetics André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Joseph Henry (1797-1878)
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
Electronics Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945)
Electrophysiology John Eccles (1903-1997)
Embryology Julius Caesar Aranzi (1529-1589)
William Harvey (1578-1657)
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694)
Energetics Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)
Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903)
Entomology William Kirby (1759-1850)
Entomology, of Living Insects Henri Fabre (1823-1915)
Epidemiology Girolamo Fracastoro (1478-1553)
Evolution / Natural Selection Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Field Theory Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Fluid Mechanics George Stokes (1819-1903)
Gas Dynamics Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Genetics Gregor Mendel (1822-1884*)
Genetics, Clinical Medical Victor A. McKusick (1921-2008)
Genetics, Population Ronald Fisher (1890-1962)
Geology Blessed Nicolas Steno (1638-1686*)
James Hutton (1726-1797)
Geometry, Analytical René Descartes (1596-1650)
Pierre de Fermat (c. 1607-1665)
Geometry, Differential Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)
Geometry, Non-Euclidean Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866)
Geophysics Jose de Acosta (1540-1600*)
Glaciology Louis Agassiz (1807-1873)
Arnold Henry Guyot (1807-1884)
Gynecology James Simpson (1811-1870)
Histology Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694)
Marie François Xavier Bichat (1771-1802)
Hydraulics Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Hydrodynamics Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Hydrography Matthew Maury (1806-1873)
Hydrology Edme Mariotte (c. 1620-1684*)
Hydrostatics Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Ichthyology Louis Aggasiz (1807-1873)
Immunology Edward Anthony Jenner (1749-1823)
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Laser Science Charles Hard Townes (b. 1915)
Arthur Schawlow (1921-1999)
Mathematical Analysis Leonhard Euler (1707-1783)
Mechanics, Celestial Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Mechanics, Classical Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Mechanics, Quantum Max Planck (1858-1947)
Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976)
Mechanics, Wave Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)
Medicine, Modern William Harvey (1578-1657)
Meteorology Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647)
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799*)
Matthew Maury (1806-1873)
Microbiology Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680*)
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694)
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
Mineralogy Georgius Agricola (1494-1555)
Mineralogy, Optical David Brewster (1781-1868)
Model Analysis Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919)
Morphology Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Nanotechnology Richard Smalley (1943-2005)
Neurology Charles Bell (1774-1842)
Number Theory Leonhard Euler (1707-1783)
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)
Obstetrics William Smellie (1697-1763)
Oceanography Matthew Maury (1806-1873)
Optics Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Francesco Maria Grimaldi (1618-1663*)
James Gregory (1638-1675)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Ornithology John Ray (1627-1705)
Paleontology John Woodward (1665-1728)
Paleontology, Vertebrate Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
Pathology Marie François Xavier Bichat (1771-1802)
Thomas Hodgkin (1798-1866)
Physics, Atomic Joseph J. Thomson (1856-1940)
Physics, Classical Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Physics, Experimental Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Physics, Mathematical Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Physics, Nuclear Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
Physics, Particle John Dalton (1766-1844)
Physiology William Harvey (1578-1657)
Probability Theory Pierre de Fermat (c. 1607-1665)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695)
Scientific Method Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655*)
Seismology John Michell (1724-1793)
Stellar Spectroscopy Pietro Angelo Secchi (1818-1878*)
Sir William Huggins (1824-1910)
Stratigraphy Blessed Nicolas Steno (1638-1686*)
Surgery Ambroise Paré (c. 1510-1590)
Taxonomy Carol Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Thermochemistry Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794)
Thermodynamics James Joule (1818-1889)
Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)
Thermodynamics, Chemical Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903)
Thermodynamics, Statistical James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
Thermokinetics Humphrey Davy (1778-1829)
Transfinite Mathematics Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848*)
Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789-1857)
Karl Weierstrass (1815-1897)
Georg Cantor (1845-1918)
Transplantology Alexis Carrel (1873-1944)
Joseph Murray (b. 1919)
Volcanology Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680*)
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799*)
James Dwight Dana (1813-1895)
Zoology Conrad Gessner (1516-1565)
[for further reference, see: Wikipedia: “List of persons considered father or mother of a scientific field”]
34 Prominent Catholic Priest-Scientists and Mathematicians: 1500-1950
Christopher Clavius (1538-1612; Jesuit priest) Mathematician, astronomer.
Jose de Acosta (1540-1600; Jesuit priest) Geophysicist, meteorologist.
Christopher Scheiner (1575-1650; Jesuit priest) Astronomer, optician.
Benedetto Castelli (1577-1644; Benedictine abbot) Mathematician; hydraulics.
Nicolas Zucchi (1586-1670; Jesuit priest) Optician.
Johann Baptist Cysat (c. 1587-1657; Jesuit priest) Astronomer (expert on comets).
Giovanni Battista Zupi (c. 1590-1650; Jesuit priest) Astronomer.
Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655; priest) Astronomer.
Giovanni Battista Riccioli (1598-1671; Jesuit priest) Physicist.
Jacques de Billy (1602-1679; Jesuit priest) Mathematician, critic of astrology.
Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680; Jesuit priest) Geologist, microbiologist, inventor, Egyptologist, medical theorist (infectious disease).
Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (1606-1682; Cistercian and archbishop) Mathematics, astronomy, physics, and probability theory.
André Tacquet (1612-1660; Jesuit priest) Mathematician.
Francesco Maria Grimaldi (1618-1663; Jesuit priest) Optician.
Jean-Felix Picard (1620-1682; Jesuit priest) Geologist (size of the earth), astronomer, inventor.
Edme Mariotte (c. 1620-1684; priest) Physicist, chemist, optician, hydrology.
Francesco Lana de Terzi (c. 1631-1687; Jesuit priest) Aeronautics.
Blessed Nicolas Steno (1638-1686; bishop) Geology (particularly stratigraphy), mineralogist.
Pierre Varignon (1654-1722; Jesuit priest) Statics and mechanics.
Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri (1667-1733; Jesuit priest) Mathematician.
Jean-Antoine Nollet (1700-1770; priest) Electricity, osmosis.
Vincent Riccati (1707-1775; Jesuit priest) Mathematician.
Roger Joseph Boscovich (1711-1787; Jesuit priest) Physicist (atomic theory), astronomer, field theory.
Christian Mayer (1719-1783; Jesuit priest) Astronomer.
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799; priest) Microbiologist, volcanologist, meteorologist, biologist.
Juan Molina (1740-1829; Jesuit priest) Biochemist; anticipator of evolution.
Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826; priest) Astronomer.
Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848; priest) Mathematician and philosopher of science.
Pietro Angelo Secchi (1818-1878; Jesuit priest) Astronomer (especially spectroscopy and the sun).
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884; Augustinian priest) Father of genetics.
Blessed Francesco Faà di Bruno (1825-1888) Mathematician.
Armand David (1826-1900; Lazarist missionary priest) Zoologist and a botanist in China.
Monsignor Georges Lemaître (1894-1966; priest) Astronomer and mathematician; first developed the Big Bang Theory in cosmology.
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