Scientists

Heavy metal: Happy Birthday to Charles Édouard Guillaume (1861-1938), a Swiss physicist who was head of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Guillaume received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920 in recognition of the service he had rendered to precision measurements in physics by his discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloys. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Dr. Guillaume, designed by Swedish artist Lennart Forsberg, engraved by Arne Wallhorn, and issued by Sweden on November 18, 1980, Scott No. 1343, Facit No. 1148, plus a 1920 photograph of Charles Édouard Guillaume.

- nethryk

Perspiration inspiration: Jan Evangelista Purkyne (1787-1869) was a Czech anatomist and physiologist who, among many other accomplishments, discovered sweat glands in 1833. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a profile of Dr. Purkyne, designed by Czech artist Otakar Španiel (1881-1955), engraved by Bohumil Heinz, and issued by Czechoslovakia on September 2, 1937 as one of a set of two similar stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of the scientist's birth, Scott No. 233, plus an image of a portrait of Jan Evangelista Purkyne.

- nethryk

Happy Pi Day!

Relatively smart: Happy Birthday to German-born theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein (1879-1955)! Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the scientist, along with his famous equation for mass-energy equivalence, designed by Lennart Forsberg, engraved by Arne Wallhorn, and issued by Sweden on November 24, 1981, Scott No. 1387, Facit No. 1192, plus a photograph of Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921 by Austrian photographer and engraver Ferdinand Schmutzer (1870-1928).

- nethryk

Split decision: Lise Meitner (1878-1968) was an Austrian physicist who studied radioactivity and was a member of the team that discovered nuclear fission in 1938, for which her colleague German physicist Otto Hahn (1879-1968) was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1944, a decision which has been cited as one of the most glaring examples of women's scientific achievement being overlooked by the Nobel committee. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the physicist, designed by Adalbert Pilch, engraved by Kurt Leitgeb, and issued by Austria on November 7, 1978 to commemorate her birth centenary, Scott No. 1093, plus an image of a photograph of Lise Meitner lecturing at an American university in 1946.

- nethryk

Bristly boffin: Jean Turquet (1867-1945) was a French naturalist who collected polychaetes (marine worms with fleshy protrusions) during the French Antarctic Expedition of 1903-1905. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Jean Turquet, designed and engraved by Claude Jumelet, and issued for use in French Southern and Antarctic Territories on January 1, 1997, Scott No. 226.

- nethryk

Constantly discrete: Happy Birthday to Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, FRS (1858-1947), a German theoretical physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 for originating quantum theory. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the scientist, designed by Lennart Forsberg, engraved by Arne Wallhorn, and issued by Sweden on November 14, 1978, Scott No. 1272, Facit No. 1069, plus a photograph of Max Planck in 1933.

- nethryk

Beaming: Happy Birthday to Pierre Curie (1859-1906), a French physicist who in 1903 received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Sklodowska-Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel." Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Pierre Curie, designed by A. Zavialov, printed by photogravure, and issued by Russia (USSR) on October 17, 1956, Scott No. 1883, Zagorski No. 1856, plus an image of a photographic portrait of Pierre Curie by Dujardin, c. 1906.

- nethryk

Played defense: Happy Birthday to Jules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet (1870-1961), a Belgian immunologist and microbiologist who was awarded the 1919 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries relating to immunity. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Dr. Bordet and some lab equipment, designed by Lennart Forsberg, engraved by Arne Wallhorn, and issued by Sweden on November 11, 1979, Scott No. 1310, Fact No. 1110, plus an image of a signed photograph of Jules Bordet which was surely a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

On the beam: Happy Birthday to Johannes Marcus Marci FRS (1595-1667), a Bohemian doctor and scientist, rector of the University of Prague, and official physician to the Holy Roman Emperors, best known for his pioneering work in the study of the refraction of light. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Marci, designed by Czech artist Oldrich Kulhánek (1940-2013), combined engraved by Miloš Ondrácek (1936- ) and photogravure, and issued by Czech Republic on February 1, 1995 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the scientist's birth, Scott No. 2942, plus an image of an engraved portrait (1772) of Johannes Marcus Marci by Bohemian engraver Johann Balzer (1738-1799). Note: A crater on the far side of the Moon is named after Marci. Bonus: Skull.

- nethryk

Can you dig it? Happy Birthday to Orville Adalbert Derby (1851-1915), an American geologist who worked in Brazil. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Derby, printed by lithography, and issued by Brazil on July 23, 1951 to commemorate the scientist's birth centenary, Scott No. 709, plus an image of a photograph of Orville Derby which was surely the model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Prominent polymath: Andrej Kmet (1841-1908) was a Slovakian botanist, ethnographer, archaeologist, geologist, and the founder (in 1892) of the Slovak Learned Society, which later became nucleus of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Here are images of a stamp featuring a portrait of Kmet, along with a se-tenant label depicting a butterfly, a flower and the scientist's (abbreviated) autograph, designed by Slovakian artist Ivan Schurmann (1935- ), combined engraved by Miloš Ondrácek (1936- ) and photogravure, plus a photograph of Ardrej Kmet which was probably a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

Gimme Samoa! Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978), designed by Carl Herrman, printed by lithography, and issued by the USA on May 28, 1998 as one of the stamps in the 1920s "Celebrate the Century" sheet, Scott No. 3184g, plus images of a photograph of Margaret Mead in 1948, and of a first day cover bearing this stamp.

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Ringmaster: Happy Birthday to Friedrich August Kekulé (1829-1896), a German organic chemist who was the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Kekulé and depicting a diagram of the ring-shaped benzene molecule, which Kekulé first suggested in 1865, designed and combined engraved by Belgian artist Jean De Bast (1883-1975) and photogravure, and issued by Belgium on July 9, 1966, Scott No. 672, plus an image of a photograph of August Kekulé.

- nethryk

Early evolutionist: Nasir al-Din Tusi (aka Altusi, 1201-1274) was a Persian polymath: Architect, astronomer, biologist, chemist, mathematician, philosopher, physician, physicist, scientist, theologian and writer (in both Persian and Arabic). Here is an image of a stamp depicting the scholarly scientist, printed by lithography, and issued by Syria on November 1, 2000 to commemorate Science Week, Scott No. 1460, plus an image of an illustration of the astronomical observatory of Nasir al-Din Tusi. Bonuses: Books, hourglass (time piece).

- nethryk

Bold boffin: Happy Birthday to Max Theodor Felix von Laue (1879-1960), a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals, and who is also renowned for his open and steadfast opposition to National Socialism during the Nazi regime in Germany. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of the scientist, designed by Lennart Forsberg, engraved by Arne Wallhorn, and issued by Sweden on December 10, 1974, Scott No. 1103, Facit No. 903, plus an image of a photograph of Max von Laue, c. 1914, which was a model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk