Science isn't what it used to be. Most scientists today work in large teams on projects which cost a lot of money and are inevitably, to a greater or lesser extent, steered by committees. Even theorists seldom work alone and they need computer time, which doesn't come cheap for the kind of supercompu- ters they use. One result of this is that projects have to have clear goals with widespread appeal before they are ever even started.

A century ago, the justification for building the 100-inch telescope that Edwin Hubble later used to discover the expan- sion of the universe was simply to find out more about the universe.

This is why the history of science, and especially a history which brings the scientists themselves alive for us, is so important. It shows us science as a more tangible human endeavour, that we can relate to more easily than we can to the search for the Higgs boson but it also shows us how far we have come, since the speculations of those Greek philo- sophers who are now regarded as the first scientists. The unfolding story told in this particular history also gives the lie to one of the most pervasive, but misleading, myths about science the idea that it proceeds in a series of revolutionary leaps.

The application is dedicated to all the great scientist and his/her contribution in science.