Physicists from United Kingdom

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary British Physicists of all time. This list of famous British Physicists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of British Physicists.

1. #1

   

   Isaac Newton

   1643 - 1726

   HPI 99.44235 langs

   Isaac Newton is most famous for his three laws of motion, which he formulated in 1687. The first law states that every object will remain at...Read moreShow less

   Isaac Newton is most famous for his three laws of motion, which he formulated in 1687. The first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. The third law states that when one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.

2. #2

   

   Stephen Hawking

   1942 - 2018

   HPI 88.36151 langs

   Stephen Hawking is most famous for his contributions to physics and cosmology, in particular his theory that black holes emit radiation.

3. #3

   

   Michael Faraday

   1791 - 1867

   HPI 86.08151 langs

   Michael Faraday was a British scientist who is most famous for his work with electricity and electromagnetism. He is credited with inventing...Read moreShow less

   Michael Faraday was a British scientist who is most famous for his work with electricity and electromagnetism. He is credited with inventing the electric motor and dynamo.

4. #4

   

   J. J. Thomson

   1856 - 1940

   HPI 83.98107 langs

   J. J. Thomson was a British physicist who discovered the electron. He also discovered the first subatomic particle, the proton.

5. #5

   

   James Prescott Joule

   1818 - 1889

   HPI 83.91119 langs

   James Prescott Joule was most famous for his work in thermodynamics. He was the first to calculate the mechanical equivalent of heat, which...Read moreShow less

   James Prescott Joule was most famous for his work in thermodynamics. He was the first to calculate the mechanical equivalent of heat, which is the amount of work that can be done by a certain amount of heat.

6. #6

   

   Edward Victor Appleton

   1892 - 1965

   HPI 83.6481 langs

   Edward Victor Appleton was a British physicist who is most famous for his discovery of the ionosphere.

7. #7

   

   William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

   1824 - 1907

   HPI 83.3985 langs

   William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin is most famous for his work in thermodynamics and the invention of the Kelvin scale.

8. #8

   

   John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

   1842 - 1919

   HPI 83.1290 langs

   John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh is most famous for his contributions to the fields of acoustics and optics. He was awarded the Nobel...Read moreShow less

   John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh is most famous for his contributions to the fields of acoustics and optics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 for his discovery of argon.

9. #9

   

   Robert Hooke

   1635 - 1703

   HPI 82.9395 langs

   Robert Hooke was an English scientist who is most famous for his discovery of the law of elasticity.

10. #10

    

    Charles Thomson Rees Wilson

    1869 - 1959

    HPI 82.5887 langs

    Charles Thomson Rees Wilson is most famous for his work in the field of X-ray crystallography.