Modern scientists don't normally have to be concerned about violent death. It hasn't always been this way. Here are seven of the most well-known examples of scientists whose careers were cut short:
1. Evariste Galois (1811 to 1832)
At 20 years old, was killed in a duel. As Mathematician Evariste Galois was a genius.
He fought a duel in Paris when he was 20 years old, most likely as a result of a romantic affair gone awry. He was shot, and the next day he died.
He poured out his mathematical thoughts and conveyed them to his buddy, Auguste Chevalier, in the days leading up to the duel, confident that he would be murdered. Galois created a completely new and extremely important branch of mathematics in the process: group theory, often known as Galois theory.
In 1952, Hermann Weyl, a well-known German mathematician, explained the significance of Galois's letter as follows:
"If the uniqueness and profundity of thoughts included in this letter are judged, it is arguably the most significant piece of writing in the entire literature of mankind."
2. Moseley, Henry (1887 - 1915)
At the age of 27, he was killed in war.
Henry Moseley discovered in 1913 that the number of protons in a chemical element determines its identification. He discovered the fundamental basis of the periodic table in the process.
He enlisted as a volunteer in the British Army when World War I broke out in 1914. His family urged him to continue his scientific research, but he believed it was his responsibility to join the army.
On August 10, 1915, at the age of 27, Second Lieutenant Henry Moseley was killed in fighting in Gallipoli, Turkey.
In 1916, no Nobel Prizes in physics or chemistry were given out. Moseley would very probably have gotten one of these honors if he had been alive at the time.
3. Servetus, Michael (1511 – 1553)
At the age of 42, he was burned at the stake.
Michael Servetus was interested in science, medicine, theology, law, and the humanities, among other things.
He made significant discoveries in medicine and anatomy, including being the first European to correctly explain blood circulation between the heart and lungs, independently of Egypt's Ibn al-Nafis.
Because he denied the Trinity and objected to child baptism, he was declared a heretic by both Protestant and Catholic Churches. In Geneva, Switzerland, he was burnt at the stake.
Servetus was burned along with any books he had written that might be found by religious authorities, therefore the significance of his work was forgotten for many years after his death.
4. Hypatia (370–415 B.C)
A mob assassinated him at the age of 45.
Hypatia lived and died in Alexandria, Egypt, at the time when it was ruled by the Greeks. Little is known about Hypatia's life and accomplishments. Socrates Scholasticus, a historian who was in Alexandria at the time of Hypatia's murder, is our greatest source. He expressed himself as follows:
Hypatia of Alexandria, daughter of the philosopher Theon, achieved such heights in literature and science that she far outstripped all of her contemporaries. After succeeding to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she taught her students the principles of philosophy, many of whom traveled great distances to learn from her.
Hypatia was assassinated by a Christian mob enraged by accusations that she interfered in a religious debate between the Governor and the Bishop of Alexandria.
5. Antoine Lavoisier (1743 - 1794)
Antoine Lavoisier guillotined at the age of 50.
One of the 'greats' of chemistry is Antoine Lavoisier.
He contributed to the field's scientific foundation by highlighting the significance of precise measurements, which led to his discovery of the law of conservation of mass.
He compiled the first list of chemical elements, which served as a precursor to the periodic table.
He discovered that oxygen makes up around 20% of air and that burning is a chemical interaction between oxygen and other chemicals. Lavoisier's theory of combustion refuted the prevailing 'phlogiston' hypothesis of the time.
Antoine Lavoisier, a wealthy man, was guillotined in Paris on May 8, 1794, during the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
6. Bruno Giordano (1548 - 1600)
At the age of 52, he was burned at the stake.
Giordano Bruno believed in the Copernican theory, which states that the earth revolves around the sun rather than being the center of the universe.
More than that, he maintained the radically modern belief that distant stars have their own, possibly inhabited planets around them. He claimed that the universe has no center and is boundless in extent.
During his trial, he was imprisoned for seven years. Bruno was eventually found to be a heretic by the Pope, and he was burnt at the stake in Rome. Part of his death sentence was based on his ideas about the earth, sun, and universe. For his religious beliefs on the Catholic Mass and the Trinity, he was also declared a heretic.
7. Archimides (c. 287 – c. 212 B.C)
Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier when he was about 75 years old.
Archimedes was arguably the greatest scientist of all time, and probably the finest scientist of the classical era. He was an engineer, inventor, and weapons designer, as well as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer.
He spent most of his time in Syracuse, Greece, where his defensive armaments helped the city survive a long siege by Rome's army and navy. A traitor eventually allowed the Roman troops into Syracuse.
During the capture of Syracuse, Archimedes died. A Roman soldier executed him against the orders of the Roman commander.