This rich compendium examines revolutionary advances in mathematics, physics, science, chemistry, biology and medicine by revealing the lives of the people responsible for them. Just as each generation of new scientific pioneers stands upon the shoulders of the giants who came before them, these biographies build upon each other and tell a collective tale of the development of breakthroughs like the X-ray, radio waves, the Big Bang Theory, and evolution. Some of the most famous scientists of all time are featured--like Newton, Mendel, Curie, and Einstein--as well as lesser known but no less influential and innovative figures.