The Most Influential People Across History
Find the most influential people in 24 academic disciplines and numerous subdisciplines
Find famous and important people related to your research. This is an excellent tool for research papers, topic papers, and building a bibliography. Using our influence-based algorithm, our rankings synthesize data from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef.
Students and researchers now have a fast and reliable way to find influential thinkers from 24 disciplines and 300 sub-disciplines (and growing). If you want to find history’s most influential philsosophers, or the world’s most influential mathematicians currently, now you can.
We also provide custom rankings of people by discipline as well as interviews with influential academics who are currently active.
To use this tool, select the discipline (and optional subdiscipline) relevant to your research, and specify influential academics by history, world, or US. Even results that are counterintuitive are often enlightening (our algorithm always picks up a signal).
Methodology: How and Why We Rank by Influence …
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List of the most influential people in Biology,
#13151
Frédéric See Achard
#163881
Overall Influence
#13152
Antonio Pisani,
#163882
Overall Influence
#13153
William Bernard Weglicki
#163900
Overall Influence
#13154
Robyn S. Klein
#160876
Overall Influence
Robyn S. Klein is an American neuroimmunologist as well as the Vice Provost and Associate Dean for Graduate Education at Washington University in St. Louis Missouri. Klein is also a professor in the Departments of Medicine, Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Pathology & Immunology. Her research explores the pathogenesis of neuroinflammation in the central nervous system by probing how immune signalling molecules regulate blood brain barrier permeability. Klein is also a fervent advocate for gender equity in STEM, publishing mechanisms to improve gender equity in speakers at conferences, participating...
Go to Profile#13155
Birgitta Strandvik
#163904
Overall Influence
1938 - Present (88 years)
#13156
C. Paul Engelfriet
#163905
Overall Influence
#13157
Wonnop Visessanguan
#163908
Overall Influence
#13158
Tadashi Miyatake
#163909
Overall Influence
#13159
Edward G. Shaw
#163917
Overall Influence
#13160
Pablo A. Marquet
#163928
Overall Influence
1963 - Present (63 years)
#13161
Antony F. Mcdonagh
#163934
Overall Influence
#13162
Stéphanie P. Lacour
#133315
Overall Influence
1975 - Present (51 years)
Stéphanie P. Lacour is a French neurotechnologist and full professor holding the Foundation Bertarelli Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne . Lacour is a pioneer in the field of stretchable electronics and directs a laboratory at EPFL which specializes in the development of Soft BioElectronic Interfaces to enable seamless integration of neuroprosthetic devices into human tissues. Lacour is also a co-founding member and director of the Center for Neuroprosthetics at the EPFL Satellite Campus in Geneva, Switzerland.
Go to Profile#13163
Guillermo Hernan Goldstein
#163943
Overall Influence
#13164
Ian Y. R. Adamson
#163953
Overall Influence
#13165
Hikoichi Sakai
#163958
Overall Influence
#13166
David Meyre
#155362
Overall Influence
David Meyre is an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University, where he is also a Canada Research Chair in genetics of obesity. From September 2020, he starts teaching Molecular Biology in Nancy, France.
Go to Profile#13167
Stuart H. M. Butchart
#163966
Overall Influence
#13168
Lewis F. Petrinovich
#163972
Overall Influence
#13169
Samuel W. Cushman,
#163987
Overall Influence
#13170
Michel Caboche
#164006
Overall Influence
#13171
Constantine Metreweli
#164009
Overall Influence
#13172
Jonathan B. Weitzman
#164013
Overall Influence
#13173
Fung‐lung Chung
#164015
Overall Influence
#13174
Prescott G. Woodruff
#164019
Overall Influence
#13175
Rachel Chikwamba
#116868
Overall Influence
1950 - Present (76 years)
Rachel Kerina Chikwamba is a Zimbabwean plant geneticist born in 1967. She is in the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Group Executive: Strategic Alliances and Communication. She is an active member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.
Go to Profile#13176
Betty Ida Roots
#147826
Overall Influence
1927 - 2020 (93 years)
Betty Ida Roots was a British-born zoologist based at the University of Toronto in Canada. She was an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Career In 1927, Roots was born in South Croydon Surrey, England, in the UK. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology at the University of London's University College , a Diploma in Education at the Institution of Education . and later, a doctorate in comparative physiology at the University of London . Roots held a number of teaching and visiting scientist positions at a variety of institutions, including the Royal Free Hospital Scho...
Go to Profile#13177
Adrian R. Ferré-d’amaré
#164059
Overall Influence
#13178
Milton J. Cormier
#164077
Overall Influence
#13179
Annunziata Gloghini
#164078
Overall Influence
#13180
Mario Manfredi
#164089
Overall Influence
#13181
Rudolf Nieuwenhuys
#157330
Overall Influence
1927 - Present (99 years)
Rudolf Nieuwenhuys is a Dutch neuroanatomist, Emeritus Professor of Neuroanatomy and Comparative Neuroanatomy at the Catholic University in Nijmegen. He is recognised for his contribution to the field of comparative neuroanatomy. Professor Nieuwenhuys graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Amsterdam in 1955 and in 1960 obtained a PhD at the same institute with the dissertation Het Telencephalon der Actinopterygii. He started his research in the field of neuroanatomy in The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is author of important works...
Go to Profile#13182
Alain Verloès
#164098
Overall Influence
#13183
Walter J. Storkus
#164099
Overall Influence
#13184
Yoshihiro Kakeji
#164101
Overall Influence
#13185
Robert Zorec
#164102
Overall Influence
1958 - Present (68 years)
#13186
Richard J. Sherins
#164104
Overall Influence
#13187
Willem Van Mechelen
#164107
Overall Influence
#13188
Henrik R. Schmidt
#164126
Overall Influence
#13189
Alastair Mark Thompson
#164130
Overall Influence
#13190
Jennifer Tank
#159481
Overall Influence
Jennifer L. Tank is an American ecologist who is the Galla Professor of Ecology of Streams and Rivers at the University of Notre Dame. Her research considers the biogeochemistry of streams, the influence of agriculture on land conservation, stream restoration and stream transport. She was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2020.
Go to Profile#13191
Pat Ralph
#120689
Overall Influence
1920 - 1995 (75 years)
Patricia Marjorie Ralph was a New Zealand marine biologist and university lecturer. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1920. She graduated from Victoria University College with a Bachelor of Science in 1941 and a Master of Science two years later. She remained as a demonstrator at Victoria College and became a junior lecturer and then received a tenured position in 1949. Her work in marine biology received worldwide attention and she was awarded a Doctor of Science in 1962, the first woman at Victoria to be recognised with that degree. Two species of coral, Sphenotrochus ralphae and C...
Go to Profile#13192
Paolo Gasparini
#164137
Overall Influence
1960 - Present (66 years)
#13193
Masahiro Hatano
#164143
Overall Influence
#13194
Dominique L. P. Baeten
#164145
Overall Influence
#13195
Denis Frank Owen
#164149
Overall Influence
#13196
Nelson Spruston
#164154
Overall Influence
#13197
Michael D. West
#126118
Overall Influence
1953 - Present (73 years)
Michael D. West is an American biogerontologist, and a pioneer in stem cells, cellular aging and telomerase. He is the founder and CEO of AgeX Therapeutics, a startup focused on the field of experimental gerontology.
Go to Profile#13199
Gareth Stratton
#164160
Overall Influence
#13200
Howard C. Whisler
#157867
Overall Influence
1931 - 2007 (76 years)
Howard C. Whisler was an American mycologist. Born in Oakland, California, he attended Berkeley schools and then Palo Alto High School. Howard worked on his undergraduate degree at Oregon State College for two years and then went to the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in plant pathology in 1954. He joined the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1956 stationed in Italy. He returned to University of California, Berkeley after his military life and had finished his doctoral degree with Ralph Emerson in 1960. From 1960 to 1961 he held a post doctoral NATO-NSF Fellowship in France, at the Université de Montpellier.
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