7 Badass Scientists Throughout History

These nerds don’t care what you think, they just want to get their science on.

1. Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601)

Achievements: Catalogued of over 1000 stars and paved the way for future discoveries by improving many instruments used in his field.

This wealthy badass astronomer partied in his castle, on his private island, with his pet moose (until the moose apparently fell down a flight of stairs after consuming alcohol). When Tycho lost most of his nose in a duel over a mathematics equation, he simply put a gold plate over it.

Yes, he partied in a mansion with a moose and a blinged out face. Oh ,and he was the most important astronomical observer of the sixteenth century.

Image by Hulton Archive / Getty Images

He may have not been completely on target with the whole earth orbiting the sun concept, but he had attitude! You go Tycho.

Source: harkavagrant.com

2. Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)

Achievements: Invented the alternating-current generator that provides light and electricity, the transformer through which it is sent, and even the high voltage coil used in television sets.

Nikola was the ultimate mad scientist, meaning he was both slightly insane and terrifyingly smart. He held 700 patents at the time of his death yet he passed away penniless and in major debt. He once melted one of his assistants’ hands by overloading it with X-rays, like a badass. His experiments were risky and dangerous, if there was one man who could have single-handedly destroyed the planet, it’s this guy. You crazy Nikola!

Source: memetrics.wordpress.com

Look at him WERK.

Source: thequietus.com

3. Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Achievements: Famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only woman to win in two fields. She was also the first female professor at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Most of the time Marie Curie barely had enough money for food, let alone studying at university. Yet she persevered to graduate and make a career of scientific study. Icing on the badass cake? Her research in radioactivity ultimately led to her death. Giving science everything you have, you go girl.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

4. Richard Feynman (1918-1988)

Achievements: American Nobel prize winner in the field of Physics, he helped in the pioneering of the atomic bomb and investigated the shuttle challenger explosion.

This physicist was known to be extremely informal, always a fan of colorful language and jokes. A free spirit at heart who loved rocking out on the bongos, he was rumoured to experiment with LSD, Ketamine and marijuana. During his studies at Caltech he used a topless bar as an office, making sketches or writing physics equations on paper placemats. Part poet, part artist, part scientist; all around badass.

Source: scienceworld.wolfram.com

Here he is being a badass with the Princess of Sweden.

Source: fuckyeahfeynman.tumblr.com

5. Sir Patrick Moore (1923–2012)

Achievements: Famous for his television program The Sky At Night which he hosted for over 50 years. He received his knighthood for extensive work in astronomy in 2001.

Sir Patrick Moore was a completely self taught astronomer known for his eccentric personality, occasional xylophone playing, and love of cats. He became the youngest member of the British Astronomical Association at age 11 and at 13, he published and presented his first scientific paper about the Mare Crisium (a crater on the moon). He started wearing a monocle and smoking a pipe at 16…like a boss.

Source: glasswalking-stick.blogspot.com

Source: glasswalking-stick.blogspot.com

6. Meredith “Flash” Gourdine (1929- 1998)

Achievements: Responsible for the engineering technique termed “Incineraid” for the removal of smoke from buildings. His work on gas dispersion developed techniques for dispersing fog from airport runways.

Dr. Gourdine was a physicist, a pioneer researcher, and the jock of all scientists. In 1952 at the age of 23, he went to the Olympics. His nickname was Meredith “Flash” Gourdine due to the fact he won the silver medal for the long jump. Later in life he went blind, but did that slow down the flash? Not at all. In 1994 this badass was inducted to Engineering and Science Hall of Fame

Source: d1wash.myweb.uga.edu

7. Criag Venter (1946-present)

Achievements: First person to successfully map the human genome, as well as the bacterial genome.

Modern day biology bad boy Craig Venter was known in his school days for his unruly behavior more than for his less than average grades. He spent most of his time surfing and being a beach bum. In 1995, Venter became the first to sequence a whole bacterial genome! Who else would challenge the Human Genome Project in a race to complete the first genome mapping? He drives a black porsche, sails around on his 95-foot yacht collecting biological samples and never minds stirring up trouble in the scientific community.

Source: Vittorio Zunino Celotto