Leonardo da Vinci?
Would Grace Hopper count as she was a pioneer Computer Scientist?
DaVinci, Leonardo - (he did science, too!) mathematics and anatomy
Jacob of Nisibis- founder of the School of Nisibis, one of the earliest institutions of learning.
Francis Crick & James Watson
Christiaan Huygens
Jane Goodall
Stephen Hawking should be on the list, surprised it has taken this long. Granted his field of study is pretty narrow but he has done much to popularise physics, and science in general. Not to mention a role model for overcoming personal difficulty.
Edward Jenner probably deserves to be on there for his pioneering work in immunisation. Likewise Joseph Lister for antiseptics.
Antoine Lavoisier
J.J. Berzelius
Andreas Vesalius, the founder of the anatomical sciences.
Vera Rubin
Annie Jump Cannon
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
French chemist Antoine Lavoisier
He was already nominated in #25, but I’m glad to see him nominated twice! 
John Bardeen
Eugene Wigner
John von Neumann
Alan Turing (if CS counts)
Sure, she’s a scientist, but
Ada Lovelace Byron
is more deserving of the place, I’d think. And Turing, but Snarky Kong just ninjaed me on him.
I disagree on Ada, what she did, did not lead to much progress at all. What Admiral Hopper and Alan Turing did changed the world in their lifetimes.
Turing did so much to help defeat the Axis that I think he is a great choice. Admiral Hopper’s creation of the first human readable computer language made computers mainstream.
Edison, Thomas Alva
William of Ockham
Francis Bacon
Nominated for top 10:
Maurice Hilleman (vaccines)
I would accept it if economists are disallowed. But here are some of the main candidates anyway.
Adam Smith
David Ricardo
John Maynard Keynes
Paul Samuelson
Kenneth Arrow (greatest economist who isn’t a household name)
Milton Friedman
These guys don’t make my nomination list, but I’m giving them a mention.
Karl Popper (Philosophy of Science)
Thomas Kuhn (Philosophy of Science)
Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematics, statistics
Louis Leakey – anthropology
Carolus Linnaeus – botany, taxonomy
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek – microbiology, microscopy
I want to keep nominations open for another several days, but it’s not too early to plan the rules for Elimination Round One. It looks like we’ll have well over 100 nominations. I want to whittle them down to 36 finalists in a few elimination rounds.
I propose that each participant be allowed up to six OFF votes, and up to two KEEP votes. (A Keep vote cancels another’s Off vote for the same scientist.) A player is allowed to change his votes at any time prior to the pre-announced End of Round.
These vote allowances will be reduced in subsequent rounds but we’ll want to prune the initial List of Nominations rapidly. (How many will be eliminated at the end of Elimination Round 1? That’s purely at Mod’s whim, but the voting is open and Mod may seek advice.)
As Moderator I reserve the right to make up to 13 nominations of my own and will make four of them now. If we’re going to allow inventors, or pure mathematicians, or theologians, or polymaths, then I nominate
Gutenberg, Johannes - invention
Poincare, Henri - math
Bruno, Giordano - philosophy
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosopher
These are NOT intended to encourage further submissions of these ilks — arguably not even “scientists” — but rather to put a stop to it.
The list of nominees is so large that some will want me to subdivide them. I’m undecided as to whether that’s a good idea, but I’ve spoiled an arbitrary arrangement of the 96 current nominees into nine categories: 20 Physics, 17 Astronomy, 12 Math and Comp. Sci., 10 Chemistry, 10 Biology, 9 Philosophy and Geology, 7 Anthro & Health, 6 Economics, 5 Invention.
Anthropology and Human Health
Borlaug, Norman - agronomics
Goodall, Jane - primatology
Hilleman, Maurice - biology, vaccination; saved more lives
Jenner, Edward - vaccination
Leakey, Louis - anthropology
Lister, Joseph - antiseptics
Salk, Jonas - medicine, vaccination
Biology
Crick, Francis - Dna
Darwin, Charles - biology
Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine
Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van - microbiology, microscopy
Linnaeus, Carolus - botany, taxonomy
McClintock, Barbara - genetics
Mendel, Gregor - genetics
Mullis, Kary - biology
Vesalius, Andreas - founder of anatomical sciences
Watson, James - Dna
Chemistry
Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry
Boyle, Robert - chemistry, physics
Dalton, John - chemistry
Davy, Sir Humphrey - chemistry
Franklin, Rosalind - chemistry, X-ray crystallography
Haber, Fritz - chemistry; invention (fertilizer, gas warfare)
Lavoisier, Antoine - chemistry
Liebig, Justus von - organic chemistry; a great practical scientist.
Pasteur, Louis - chemistry, biology
Pauling, Linus - chemistry
Astronomy
Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy
Brahmagupta - math, astronomy
Cannon, Annie Jump - astronomy
Copernicus, Nicolas - astronomy
Eratosthenes - math, astronomy
Galileo - physics, astronomy, etc.
Gauss, Karl - math, astronomy
Halley, Edmond - astronomy, etc.
Hubble, Edwin - astronomy
Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan - astronomy
Michelson, Albert - astronomy; speed of light
Morley, Edward - astronomy, chemistry, optics, and physics.
Ptolemy - astronomy
Rubin, Vera - astronomy
Sagan, Carl - astronomy
Zhang Heng - astronomy, mechanics
Mathematics and Computer science
Archimedes - math, physics
Euclid - math
Euler, Leonhard - math
Fermat, Pierre de - math, optics
Hopper, Grace - computer science
Leibnitz, Gottfried - math, physics, etc.
Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of - computer science
Neumann, John von - computer science, etc.
Noether, Emmy - math
Poincare, Henri - math
Russell, Bertrand - math
Turing, Alan - computer science, etc.
Economic Science
Arrow, Kenneth - economics
Friedman, Milton - economics
Keynes, John Maynard - economics
Ricardo, David - economics
Samuelson, Paul - economics
Smith, Adam - economics
Invention
Edison, Thomas Alva - invention
Gutenberg, Johannes - invention
Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc.
Marconi, Guglielmo - radio transmission
Tesla, Nicolai - physics, invention
Philosophy and Geology
Aristotle - philosophy, geology, biology, etc.
Bacon, Francis - philosophy
Bruno, Giordano - philosophy
Ge Hong - philosophy, alchemy
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosopher
Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school
Ockham, William of - philosophy
Pythagoras - math
Smith, William - geology
Physics
Bardeen, John - physics, invention
Bohr, Niels - atomic physics
Curie, Marie - radioactivity
Dirac, Paul - physics
Einstein, Albert - physics
Faraday, Michael - electromagnetism, etc.
Fermi, Enrico - atomic physics
Feynman, Richard - physics
Franklin, Benjamin - physics, etc.
Gell-Mann, Murray - physics
Hawking, Stephen - cosmology
Heisenberg, Werner - quantum theory
Huygens, Christiaan - optics, physics
Maxwell, James Clerk - physics
Meitner, Lise - atomic physics
Newton, Sir Isaac - math, physics
Oppenheimer, Robert - atomic physics
Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity.
Thorne, Kip - physics
Wigner, Eugene - physics, symmetry
Here’s the same list with all 96 names in a single alphabetized batch.
Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa - math, astronomy
Archimedes - math, physics
Aristotle - philosophy, geology, biology, etc.
Arrow, Kenneth - economics
Bacon, Francis - philosophy
Bardeen, John - physics, invention
Berzelius, Jacob - chemistry
Bohr, Niels - atomic physics
Borlaug, Norman - agronomics
Boyle, Robert - chemistry, physics
Brahmagupta - math, astronomy
Bruno, Giordano - philosophy
Cannon, Annie Jump - astronomy
Copernicus, Nicolas - astronomy
Crick, Francis - Dna
Curie, Marie - radioactivity
Dalton, John - chemistry
Darwin, Charles - biology
Davy, Sir Humphrey - chemistry
Dirac, Paul - physics
Edison, Thomas Alva - invention
Einstein, Albert - physics
Eratosthenes - math, astronomy
Euclid - math
Euler, Leonhard - math
Faraday, Michael - electromagnetism, etc.
Fermat, Pierre de - math, optics
Fermi, Enrico - atomic physics
Feynman, Richard - physics
Franklin, Benjamin - physics, etc.
Franklin, Rosalind - chemistry, X-ray crystallography
Friedman, Milton - economics
Galen, of Pergamon - biology, medicine
Galileo - physics, astronomy, etc.
Gauss, Karl - math, astronomy
Ge Hong - philosophy, alchemy
Gell-Mann, Murray - physics
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - natural philosopher
Goodall, Jane - primatology
Gutenberg, Johannes - invention
Haber, Fritz - chemistry; invention (fertilizer, gas warfare)
Halley, Edmond - astronomy, etc.
Hawking, Stephen - cosmology
Heisenberg, Werner - quantum theory
Hilleman, Maurice - biology, vaccination; saved more lives
Hopper, Grace - computer science
Hubble, Edwin - astronomy
Huygens, Christiaan - optics, physics
Jenner, Edward - vaccination
Kepler, Johannes - astronomy, math
Keynes, John Maynard - economics
Lavoisier, Antoine - chemistry
Leakey, Louis - anthropology
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan - astronomy
Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van - microbiology, microscopy
Leibnitz, Gottfried - math, physics, etc.
Leonardo da Vinci - anatomy, invention, etc.
Liebig, Justus von - organic chemistry; a great practical scientist.
Linnaeus, Carolus - botany, taxonomy
Lister, Joseph - antiseptics
Lovelace, Ada Byron Countess of - computer science
Marconi, Guglielmo - radio transmission
Maxwell, James Clerk - physics
McClintock, Barbara - genetics
Meitner, Lise - atomic physics
Mendel, Gregor - genetics
Michelson, Albert - astronomy; speed of light
Morley, Edward - astronomy, chemistry, optics, and physics.
Mullis, Kary - biology
Neumann, John von - computer science, etc.
Newton, Sir Isaac - math, physics
Nisibis, St. Jacob of - theology, founded early school
Noether, Emmy - math
Ockham, William of - philosophy
Oppenheimer, Robert - atomic physics
Pasteur, Louis - chemistry, biology
Pauling, Linus - chemistry
Poincare, Henri - math
Ptolemy - astronomy
Pythagoras - math
Ricardo, David - economics
Rubin, Vera - astronomy
Russell, Bertrand - math
Rutherford, Ernest - nuclear physics, atomic theory, radioactivity.
Sagan, Carl - astronomy
Salk, Jonas - medicine, vaccination
Samuelson, Paul - economics
Smith, Adam - economics
Smith, William - geology
Tesla, Nicolai - physics, invention
Thorne, Kip - physics
Turing, Alan - computer science, etc.
Vesalius, Andreas - founder of anatomical sciences
Watson, James - Dna
Wigner, Eugene - physics, symmetry
Zhang Heng - astronomy, mechanics
Please inform me if I have inadvertantly omitted your nomination.
I forgot the smiley-face here!
Actually, I’m proud of these choices and will definitely tout them all to survive and join the Thirty-Six Finalists! — using the same criteria others will use. For example, we can say — for better or worse — that Gutenberg created more lives than Maurice Hilleman saved: Books were a prerequisite for almost all the revolutions, including the population explosion.
If others understand my p.o.v. here and have similar nominees, please submit them!
My thinking on Ada Lovelace is that it’s impressive to invent a machine, or to come up with a new way to use a machine, but both of those have been done many, many times, by many, many people. But it’s not often that you find someone figuring out how to use a machine that doesn’t even exist. Hopper may have accomplished more, but she did so by standing on the shoulders of much taller giants.
Why 36 finalists specifically? Is there some reason that number is particularly easy to handle?
I have to say right at the beginning I anticipate problems. Comparing Presidents is easy; they were all doing the same job and the Presidency is an individual role. And the nature of the job is open to public scrutiny.
Comparing scientists is a lot harder. First off, you have to know the fields of science and compare their value. Which is more important: Optics or botany? Calculus or chemistry? Psychology or physics? Then you have to compare the place each figure holds in their field of science (remembering to separate their public image from their professional role). Then you have to decide how much credit the figure owes to their predecessors and colleagues. Then you have to decide how credit they can claim for the work of their successors and colleagues.