This Month in Science History – Scientists Born in June

Team StoryWeavers|June 26, 2019, 06:25 IST| 31

Science is constantly evolving, helping us understand the world better. Throughout history, some of the greatest inventors and scientists were born in June. Their contributions to science have changed the way we understand and perceive the world. But most importantly, these scientists inspire us to strive for better, question more, and trust our instincts to reach our goals.

              Here are a few famous scientists born in June

Virginia Apgar

Birthday:  June 7, 1909

Birthplace: New Jersey, United States

Profession: Doctor

Honours: Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1966), Woman of the Year in Science, and Ladies Home Journal (1973).

Known for: Inventing the APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration) score.

Tim Berners-Lee

Birthday:  June 8, 1955

Birthplace: London, United Kingdom

Profession: Computer Scientist

Honours: Mountbatten Medal (1996), Marconi Prize (2002), Internet Hall of Fame for Innovators (2012),  Turing Award (2017).

Known for: Inventing the World Wide Web, Web Browser, HTML and Hypertext Transfer Protocol

John Forbes Nash Jr.

Birthday: June 13,  1928

Birthplace: West Virginia, United States

Profession: Mathematician

Honours: John von Neumann Theory Prize (1978), Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1994), a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1996), and Abel Prize (2015).

Known for: Contributions to game theory, differential geometry, Nash-Moser Theorem, and the study of partial differential equations.

James Clerk Maxwell

Birthday: June 13, 1831

Birthplace: Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Profession: Scientist

Honours: Smith’s Prize (1854), Adams Prize (1857), Rumford Medal (1860), and Keith Prize (1869–71).

Known for: Formulating the electromagnetic theory and Maxwell theorems.

Maria Goeppert Mayer

Birthday: June 28, 1906

Birthplace: California, United States

Profession: Theoretical physicist

Honours: Nobel Prize in Physics (1963).

Known for: Proposing the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus.

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

Birthday:  June 29, 1893

Birthplace: Kolkata, India

Profession: Scientist

Honours: Padma Vibhushan (1968), an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE, 1942), Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), and Weldon Memorial Prize.

Known for: Creating the Mahalanobis Distance Feldman–Mahalanobis Model.

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao 

Birthday: June 30, 1934

Birthplace: Bengaluru, India

Profession: Chemist

Honours: Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Hughes Medal, and Dan David Prize ​in the Future​ Time Dimension.

Known for: Working in solid-state chemistry, and materials science.

Which scientist do you share your birthday with?

Do tell us about your favourite scientists and how they inspire you. 

Also read,

Scientists born in May

Scientists born in September

Scientists born in July

Indian scientists quotes

About the Author


Books are Tanaya Goswami’s first love and cheesecakes come a close second. Talking about movies, music, calligraphy, politics, and Elon Musk will get you listed under the friends’ section of her diary. Ever since moving on from her job as an English lecturer, she spends her time at BYJU’S crafting stories filled with emotion and sprinkled with sarcasm. Outside of work, she’s either learning something new (French, most recently!) or is curled up with a book and a cup of coffee. She firmly believes that discovering what you don’t know is the key to knowledge and is constantly working towards improving herself. Drop in a line at storyweavers@byjus.com if you liked her stories, have something nice to say, or if you have compelling ideas to share!