This is a list of

Catholic clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sac ...

throughout history who have made contributions to science. These churchmen-scientists include

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulat ...

Gregor Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel wa ...

Georges Lemaître Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître ( ; ; 17 July 1894 – 20 June 1966) was a Belgian Catholic priest, theoretical physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and professor of physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. He was the first to th ...

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his li ...

, Roger Bacon,

Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much ti ...

Roger Joseph Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich ( hr, Ruđer Josip Bošković; ; it, Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich; la, Rogerius (Iosephus) Boscovicius; sr, Руђер Јосип Бошковић; 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a physicist, astronomer, ...

Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...

Bernard Bolzano Bernard Bolzano (, ; ; ; born Bernardus Placidus Johann Gonzal Nepomuk Bolzano; 5 October 1781 – 18 December 1848) was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher, theologian and Catholic priest of Italian extraction, also known for his li ...

Francesco Maria Grimaldi Francesco Maria Grimaldi, SJ (2 April 1618 – 28 December 1663) was an Italian Jesuit priest, mathematician and physicist who taught at the Jesuit college in Bologna. He was born in Bologna to Paride Grimaldi and Anna Cattani. Work Betwee ...

Nicole Oresme Nicole Oresme (; c. 1320–1325 – 11 July 1382), also known as Nicolas Oresme, Nicholas Oresme, or Nicolas d'Oresme, was a French philosopher of the later Middle Ages. He wrote influential works on economics, mathematics, physics, astrology ...

Jean Buridan Jean Buridan (; Latin: ''Johannes Buridanus''; – ) was an influential 14th-century French philosopher. Buridan was a teacher in the faculty of arts at the University of Paris for his entire career who focused in particular on logic and the w ...

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Robe ...

Christopher Clavius Christopher Clavius, SJ (25 March 1538 – 6 February 1612) was a Jesuit German mathematician, head of mathematicians at the Collegio Romano, and astronomer who was a member of the Vatican commission that accepted the proposed calendar inv ...

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to ...

Giovanni Battista Riccioli Giovanni Battista Riccioli, SJ (17 April 1598 – 25 June 1671) was an Italian astronomer and a Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. He is known, among other things, for his experiments with pendulums and with falling bodies, for his discussion ...

William of Ockham William of Ockham, OFM (; also Occam, from la, Gulielmus Occamus; 1287 – 10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small vi ...

, and others listed below. The Catholic Church has also produced many lay scientists and mathematicians. The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in particular have made numerous significant contributions to the development of science. For example, the Jesuits have dedicated significant study to earthquakes, and

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

has been described as "the Jesuit science." The Jesuits have been described as "the single most important contributor to experimental physics in the seventeenth century." According to Jonathan Wright in his book ''God's Soldiers'', by the eighteenth century the Jesuits had "contributed to the development of pendulum clocks, pantographs, barometers, reflecting telescopes and microscopes, to scientific fields as various as magnetism, optics and electricity. They observed, in some cases before anyone else, the colored bands on

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

's surface, the Andromeda nebula and Saturn's rings. They theorized about the circulation of the blood (independently of Harvey), the theoretical possibility of flight, the way the moon affected the tides, and the wave-like nature of light." Because there is a

List of lay Catholic scientists Many Catholics have made significant contributions to the development of science and mathematics from the Middle Ages to today. These scientists include Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, André-Marie Ampère, Charles ...

, this list does not include lay members of religious orders, such as (non-priest) monks and nuns, brothers and sisters, or anyone in 'minor orders' at such times that those were not considered clergy.

The clergy-scientists

A

Albertus Magnus Painting by Joos van Gent

Osservatorio ximeniano, giuseppe mercalli sul vesuvio

José de Acosta José de Acosta (1539 or 1540 in Medina del Campo, Spain – February 15, 1600 in Salamanca, Spain) was a sixteenth-century Spanish Jesuit missionary and naturalist in Latin America. His deductions regarding the ill effects of crossing over t ...

(1539–1600) – Jesuit missionary and naturalist who wrote one of the first detailed and realistic descriptions of the new world * François d'Aguilon (1567–1617) – Belgian Jesuit mathematician, architect, and physicist, who worked on optics *

Lorenzo Albacete Lorenzo Albacete Cintrón (January 7, 1941 – October 24, 2014) was a Puerto Rican theologian, Roman Catholic priest, scientist and author. A New York Times Magazine contributor, Albacete was one of the leaders in the United States for the interna ...

(1941–2014) – priest, physicist, and theologian * Albert of Castile (c. 1460 – 1522) – Dominican priest and historian *

Albert of Saxony (philosopher) Albert of Saxony (Latin: ''Albertus de Saxonia''; c. 1320 – 8 July 1390) was a German philosopher and mathematician known for his contributions to logic and physics. He was bishop of Halberstadt from 1366 until his death. Life Albert was born ...

(c. 1320 – 1390) – German bishop known for his contributions to logic and physics; with Buridan he helped develop the theory that was a precursor to the modern theory of inertia *

(c. 1206 – 1280) – Dominican friar and Bishop of Regensburg who has been described as "one of the most famous precursors of modern science in the High Middle Ages." Patron saint of natural sciences; Works in physics, logic, metaphysics, biology, and psychology. *

Giulio Alenio Giulio Aleni ( la, Julius Alenius; 1582– 10 June 1649), in Chinese , was an Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar. He was born in Leno near Brescia in Italy, at the time part of the Republic of Venice, and died at Yanping in China. He bec ...

(1582–1649) – Jesuit

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

; was sent to the Far East as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and adopted a Chinese name and customs; wrote 25 books, including a cosmography and a ''Life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

'' in Chinese. * José María Algué (1856–1930) – priest and meteorologist who invented the barocyclonometer * José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez (1737–1799) – priest, scientist, historian, cartographer, and meteorologist who wrote more than thirty treatises on a variety of scientific subjects *

Bartholomeus Amicus Bartholomeus Amicus (born in Anzi, Basilicata; 1562–1649), or Bartolomeo Amico or Bartholomeo d'Amici, was a Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of t ...

(1562–1649) – Jesuit who wrote about include Aristotelian philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and the concept of vacuum and its relationship with God *

Stefano degli Angeli Stefano degli Angeli (Venice, September 23, 1623 – Padova, October 11, 1697) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher, and Jesuate. He was member of the Catholic Order of the Jesuats ( Jesuati). In 1668 the order was suppressed by Pope Clem ...

(1623–1697) – Jesuate (not to be confused with Jesuit), philosopher and mathematician, known for his work on the precursors of infinitesimal calculus *

Pierre Ango Pierre Ango (1640 in Rouen – 18 October 1694 in La Flèche) was a French Catholic priest and scientist. He was a professor at the College of La Flèche. In 1682, he published parts of Ignace-Gaston Pardies, Pardies' work on optics in his book '' ...

(1640–1694) – Jesuit scientist who published a book on optics *

Francesco Castracane degli Antelminelli Francesco Castracane degli Antelminelli (b. Fano, Italy, 19 July 1817; d. Rome 27 March 1899) was an Italian naturalist. He was educated at the Jesuits' school in Reggio Emilia, and was ordained priest in 1840. Four years later he was made canon ...

(1817–1899) – priest and botanist who was one of the first to introduce microphotography into the study of biology *

Giovanni Antonelli Giovanni Antonelli (1 October 1818 – 14 January 1872) was an Italian scientist, astronomer and engineer. Antonelli was born in Pistoia, Tuscany. A Catholic priest, he was director of the Ximenian Observatory of Florence from 1851 until his d ...

(1818–1872) – priest and astronomer who served as director of the Ximenian Observatory of Florence *

Nicolò Arrighetti Nicolò Arrighetti (17 March 1709 – 31 January 1767) was an Italian professor of natural philosophy. He was born in Florence, Italy in 1709. On 21 October 1724 he became a member of the Society of Jesus; he taught natural philosophy in ...

(1709–1767) – Jesuit who wrote treatises on light, heat, and electricity * Mariano Artigas (1938–2006) – Spanish physicist, philosopher and theologian * Giuseppe Asclepi (1706–1776) – Jesuit astronomer and physician who served as director of the Collegio Romano observatory; the lunar crater Asclepi is named after him *

Nicanor Austriaco Nicanor Robles Austriaco, Jr. OP is a Filipino-American molecular biologist and Catholic priest. He is a professor of biology and professor of theology at Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island, and a research fellow at the Center for T ...

– Dominican microbiologist, associate professor of biology and professor of theology at Providence College as well as chief researcher at the Austriaco Laboratory

B

* Roger Bacon (c. 1214 – 1294) – Franciscan friar who made significant contributions to mathematics and optics and has been described as a forerunner of modern

scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article hist ...

Bernardino Baldi Bernardino Baldi (5 June 1553 – 10 October 1617) was an Italian mathematician, poet, translator and priest. Baldi descended from a noble family from Urbino, Marche, where he was born. He pursued his studies at Padua, and is said to have spoken ...

(1533–1617) – abbot, mathematician, and writer *

Eugenio Barsanti Father Eugenio Barsanti (12 October 1821 – 19 April 1864), also named Nicolò, was an Italian engineer, who together with Felice Matteucci of Lucca invented the first version of the internal combustion engine in 1853. Their patent request was g ...

(1821–1864) – Piarist, possible inventor of the internal combustion engine *

Daniello Bartoli Daniello Bartoli, SJ (; 12 February 160813 January 1685) was an Italian Jesuit writer and historiographer, celebrated by the poet Giacomo Leopardi as the "Dante of Italian prose" Ferrara He was born in Ferrara. His father, Tiburzio was a chemi ...

(1608–1685) – Bartoli and fellow Jesuit astronomer Niccolò Zucchi are credited as probably having been the first to see the equatorial belts on the planet Jupiter * Joseph Bayma (1816–1892) – Jesuit known for work in stereochemistry and mathematics * Giovanni Battista Beccaria (1716–1781) –

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

, physicist, teacher of

Joseph-Louis Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaLuigi Galvani Luigi Galvani (, also ; ; la, Aloysius Galvanus; 9 September 1737 – 4 December 1798) was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who studied animal electricity. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs t ...

and Alessandro Volta, correspondent of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...

Giacopo Belgrado Jacopo Belgrado, sometimes written Giacopo (November 16, 1704 in Udine – March 26, 1789 in Udine), was an Italian Jesuit, mathematician and natural philosopher.

(1704–1789) – Jesuit professor of mathematics and physics and court mathematician who did experimental work in electricity *

Michel Benoist Michel Benoist (, 8 October 1715 in Dijon, France – 23 October 1774 in Beijing, China) was a Jesuit scientist who served for thirty years in the court of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796) during the Qing Dynasty, known for his architectura ...

(1715–1774) – missionary to China and scientist * Mario Bettinus (1582–1657) – Jesuit philosopher, mathematician and astronomer; lunar crater Bettinus named after him *

Giuseppe Biancani Giuseppe Biancani, SJ (Latin: Josephus Blancanus) (1566–1624) was an Italian Jesuit astronomer, mathematician, and selenographer, after whom the crater Blancanus on the Moon is named. He was a native of Bologna. Works His ''Aristoteli ...

(1566–1624) – Jesuit astronomer, mathematician, and selenographer, after whom the crater Blancanus on the Moon is named *

Jacques de Billy : ''For the English patristic scholar and Benedictine abbot, see Jacques de Billy (abbot) (1535–1581).'' Jacques de Billy (March 18, 1602 – January 14, 1679) was a French Jesuit mathematician. Born in Compiègne, he subsequently ente ...

(1602–1679) – Jesuit who has produced a number of results in number theory which have been named after him; published several astronomical tables; the crater Billy on the Moon is named after him *

Paolo Boccone Paolo Silvio Boccone (24 April 1633 – 22 December 1704) was an Italian botanist from Sicily, whose interest in plants had been sparked at a young age. Born in a rich family, he was able to dedicate most of his life to the study of botany. Life ...

(1633–1704) – Cistercian botanist who contributed to the fields of medicine and toxicology *

(1781–1848) – priest, mathematician, and logician whose other interests included metaphysics, ideas, sensation, and truth * Anselmus de Boodt (1550–1632) – canon who was one of the founders of mineralogy *

Theodoric Borgognoni ] Theodoric Borgognoni (1205 – 1296/8), also known as Teodorico de' Borgognoni, and Theodoric of Lucca, was an Italian who became one of the most significant surgeons of the medieval period. A Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Bishop of Cervia ...

(1205–1298) – Dominican friar, Bishop of Cervia, and medieval Surgeon who made important contributions to antiseptic practice and anaesthetics *

Thomas Borgmeier Thomas Borgmeier (31 October 1892 – 11 May 1975) was a German-Brazilian priest and entomologist and became a specialist on the ants of Brazil and on the flies in the family Phoridae. He was also the founder of the journals ''Revista de Entomologia ...

(1892–1975) – German-born priest and entomologist who worked in Brazil * Christopher Borrus (1583–1632) – Jesuit mathematician and astronomy who made observations on the magnetic variation of the compass *

(1711–1787) – Croatian Jesuit polymath known for his contributions to modern atomic theory and astronomy and for devising perhaps the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position *

Joachim Bouvet Joachim Bouvet (, courtesy name: 明远) (July 18, 1656, in Le Mans – June 28, 1730, in Peking) was a French Jesuit who worked in China, and the leading member of the Figurist movement. China Bouvet came to China in 1687, as one of six Jesui ...

(1656–1730) – Jesuit sinologist and cartographer who did his work in China *

Michał Boym Michał Piotr BoymHis first name is also often rendered as ''Michele'', ''Michel'', ''Miguel'', ''Michael Peter'' (;Transliterated also (using Wade-Giles) as ''Pu Che-yuen Mi-ko'' c. 1612 – 1659) was a Polish Jesuit missionary to China, scienti ...

(c. 1612 – 1659) – Jesuit who was one of the first westerners to travel within the Chinese mainland, and the author of numerous works on Asian fauna, flora and geography *

Thomas Bradwardine Thomas Bradwardine (c. 1300 – 26 August 1349) was an English cleric, scholar, mathematician, physicist, courtier and, very briefly, Archbishop of Canterbury. As a celebrated scholastic philosopher and doctor of theology, he is often cal ...

(c. 1290 – 1349) – Archbishop of Canterbury and mathematician who helped develop the mean speed theorem; one of the Oxford Calculators * Martin Stanislaus Brennan (1845–1927) – priest and astronomer who wrote several books about science *

Henri Breuil Henri Édouard Prosper Breuil (28 February 1877 – 14 August 1961), often referred to as Abbé Breuil, was a French Catholic priest, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist. He is noted for his studies of cave art in the Somme ...

(1877–1961) – priest, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist *

Jan Brożek Jan Brożek (''Ioannes Broscius'', ''Joannes Broscius'' or ''Johannes Broscius''; 1 November 1585 – 21 November 1652) was a Polish polymath: a mathematician, astronomer, physician, poet, writer, musician and rector of the Kraków Academy. Life ...

(1585–1652) – Polish canon, polymath, mathematician, astronomer, and physician; the most prominent Polish mathematician of the 17th century *

Pádraig de Brún Pádraig de Brún (13 October 1889 – 5 June 1960), also called Patrick Joseph Monsignor Browne, was an Irish clergyman, mathematician, poet, and classical scholar, who served as President of University College, Galway (UCG). He was also kn ...

(1889–1960) – Irish priest, mathematician, poet, and classical scholar; served as Professor of Mathematics at

St. Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

, President of

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, and Chairman of the Council of the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...

* Louis-Ovide Brunet (1826–1876) – priest, one of the founding fathers of Canadian botany *

Ismaël Bullialdus Ismaël Boulliau (; Latin: Ismaël Bullialdus; 28 September 1605 – 25 November 1694) was a 17th-century French astronomer and mathematician who was also interested in history, theology, classical studies, and philology. He was an active m ...

(1605–1694) – priest, astronomer, and member of the Royal Society; the Bullialdus crater is named in his honor *

(c. 1300 – after 1358) – priest who formulated early ideas of momentum and inertial motion and sowed the seeds of the Copernican revolution in Europe *

Roberto Busa Roberto Busa (November 28, 1913 – August 9, 2011) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the pioneers in the usage of computers for linguistic and literary analysis. He was the author of the '' Index Thomisticus'', a complete lemmatization of ...

(1913–2011) – Jesuit, wrote a

lemmatization Lemmatisation ( or lemmatization) in linguistics is the process of grouping together the inflected forms of a word so they can be analysed as a single item, identified by the word's lemma, or dictionary form. In computational linguistics, lemmati ...

of the complete works of St. Thomas Aquinas (''

Index Thomisticus The ''Index Thomisticus'' was a digital humanities project begun in the 1940s that created a concordance to 179 texts centering around Thomas Aquinas. Led by Roberto Busa, the project indexed 10,631,980 words over the course of 34 years, initial ...

'') which was later digitalized by IBM

C

Niccolò Cabeo Niccolò Cabeo, SJ (also known as Nicolaus Cabeus; February 26, 1586 – June 30, 1650) was an Italian Jesuit philosopher, theologian, engineer and mathematician. Biography He was born in Ferrara in 1586, and was educated at the Jesuit col ...

(1586–1650) – Jesuit mathematician; the crater Cabeus is named in his honor * Nicholas Callan (1799–1846) – priest and Irish scientist best known for his work on the induction coil *

Luca de Samuele Cagnazzi Luca de Samuele Cagnazzi (28 October 1764 – 26 September 1852) was an Italian archdeacon, scientist, mathematician, political economist. He also wrote a book about pedagogy and invented the tonograph. Life Born at Altamura, in what is ...

(1764–1852) – archdeacon, mathematician, political economist and inventor of the

tonograph The tonograph ( it, tonografo) is a device invented by Italian scientist Luca de Samuele Cagnazzi (1764-1852) and presented at the ''Terza riunione degli scienziati italiani'' (the "Third Meeting of Italian Scientists"), held in Florence in Septem ...

John Cantius John Cantius ( la, Joannes Cantius; pl, Jan z Kęt or ; 23 June 1390 – 24 December 1473) was a Polish priest, scholastic philosopher, physicist and theologian. Biography John Cantius was born in Kęty, a small town near Oświęcim, Pola ...

(1390–1473) – priest and Buridanist mathematical physicist who further developed the

theory of impetus The theory of impetus was an auxiliary or secondary theory of Aristotelian dynamics, put forth initially to explain projectile motion against gravity. It was introduced by John Philoponus in the 6th century, and elaborated by Nur ad-Din al-Bitruj ...

Jean Baptiste Carnoy Jean Baptiste Carnoy (11 January 1836 – 6 September 1899), born in Rumillies (Belgium), was a Roman Catholic priest and a scientist in the field of cytology. He made the initial explanation of the real nature of the albuminoid membrane, and co ...

(1836–1899) – priest, has been called the founder of the science of cytology * Giovanni di Casali (died c. 1375) – Franciscan friar who provided a graphical analysis of the motion of accelerated bodies * Paolo Casati (1617–1707) – Jesuit mathematician who wrote on astronomy, meteorology, and vacuums; the crater Casatus on the Moon is named after him; published ''Terra machinis mota'' (1658), a dialogue between Galileo, Paul Guldin and father Marin Mersenne on cosmology, geography, astronomy and geodesy, giving a positive image of Galileo 25 years after his conviction. *

Laurent Cassegrain Laurent Cassegrain (; – 1 September 1693) was a Catholic priest who is notable as the probable inventor of the Cassegrain reflector, a folded two-mirror reflecting telescope design. Biography Laurent Cassegrain was born in the region of Char ...

(1629–1693) – priest who was the probable namesake of the Cassegrain telescope; the crater Cassegrain on the Moon is named after him *

Louis Bertrand Castel Louis Bertrand Castel (5 November 1688 – 11 January 1757) was a French mathematician born in Montpellier, who entered the order of the Jesuits in 1703. Having studied literature, he afterwards devoted himself entirely to mathematics and natu ...

(1688–1757) – French Jesuit physicist who worked on gravity and optics in a Cartesian context *

Benedetto Castelli Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an Italian mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the Benedictine Order in 1595. Life Born in Brescia, Castelli studied at the University of Padua and ...

(1578–1643) – Benedictine mathematician; long-time friend and supporter of Galileo Galilei, who was his teacher; wrote an important work on fluids in motion *

Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri ( la, Bonaventura Cavalerius; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of in ...

(1598–1647) – Jesuate (not to be confused with Jesuit) known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on the precursors of infinitesimal calculus, and the introduction of logarithms to Italy; his principle in geometry partially anticipated integral calculus; the lunar crater Cavalerius is named in his honor *

Antonio José Cavanilles Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania. He named at least 100 genera, about 54 of which were still used in 2004 ...

(1745–1804) – priest and leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century * Francesco Cetti (1726–1778) – Jesuit zoologist and mathematician * Tommaso Ceva (1648–1737) – Jesuit mathematician, poet, and professor who wrote treatises on geometry, gravity, and arithmetic *

(1538–1612) – German mathematician and astronomer, most noted in connection with the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...

, his arithmetic books were used by many mathematicians including Leibniz and Descartes * Gaston-Laurent Coeurdoux (1691–1779) – Jesuit ethnologist and philologer who composed the first treatise of Indology. *

Guy Consolmagno Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ (born September 19, 1952), is an American research astronomer, physicist, religious brother, director of the Vatican Observatory, and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. Life Consolmagno attended ...

(1952–) – Jesuit astronomer and planetary scientist, serving as Director of the

Vatican Observatory The Vatican Observatory () is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope a ...

(1473–1543) – Renaissance astronomer and canon famous for his heliocentric cosmology that set in motion the Copernican Revolution *

Vincenzo Coronelli Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (August 16, 1650 – December 9, 1718) was an Italian Franciscan friar, cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes. He spent most of his life in Venice. ...

(1650–1718) – Franciscan cosmographer, cartographer, encyclopedist, and globe-maker *

Bonaventura Corti Bonaventura Corti (26 February 1729 – 3 February 1813) was an Italian Jesuit priest and naturalist who contributed to studies on microscopic organisms including the rotifers, ciliates and algae. He coined the word "plantanimal" for plant-like o ...

(1729–1813) – Italian biologist and physicist who made microscopic observations on Tremels, rotifers and seaweeds * George Coyne (1933–2020) – Jesuit astronomer and former director of the Vatican Observatory whose research interests have been in polarimetric studies of various subjects, including

Seyfert galaxies Seyfert galaxies are one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with quasars. They have quasar-like nuclei (very luminous, distant and bright sources of electromagnetic radiation) with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra ...

* James Cullen (mathematician) (1867–1933) – Jesuit mathematician who published what is now known as Cullen numbers in number theory *

James Curley (astronomer) James Curley (26 October 1796 – 24 July 1889) was an Irish-American astronomer. He was born at Athleague, County Roscommon, Ireland. His early education was limited, though his talent for mathematics was discovered, and to some extent ...

(1796–1889) – Jesuit, first director of Georgetown Observatory and determined the latitude and longitude of Washington, D.C. * Albert Curtz (1600–1671) – Jesuit astronomer who expanded on the works of Tycho Brahe and contributed to early understanding of the moon; the crater Curtius on the Moon is named after him *

Johann Baptist Cysat Johann Baptist Cysat (Latinized as Cysatus; in French, Jean-Baptiste Cysat) (c. 1587 – March 17, 1657) was a Swiss Jesuit mathematician and astronomer, after whom the lunar crater Cysatus is named. He was born in Lucerne, as the eighth of 1 ...

(1587–1657) – Jesuit mathematician and astronomer, after whom the lunar crater Cysatus is named; published the first printed European book concerning Japan; one of the first to make use of the newly developed telescope; did important research on comets and the

Orion nebula The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the Orion (constellation), constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to t ...

Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche (23 March 1722 – 1 August 1769) was a French astronomer, best known for his observations of the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. Early life Little is known of Chappe's early life. He was born into a disting ...

(1722–1769) – priest and astronomer best known for his observations of the transits of Venus

D

Ignazio Danti Ignazio (Egnation or Egnazio) Danti, O.P. (April 1536 – 10 October 1586), born Pellegrino Rainaldi Danti, was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate, mathematician, astronomer, and cosmographer, who served as Bishop of Alatri (1583–1586). ''(i ...

(1536–1586) – Dominican mathematician, astronomer, cosmographer, and cartographer *

Armand David Father Armand David (7 September 1826, Espelette – 10 November 1900, Paris) was a Lazarist missionary Catholic priest as well as a zoologist and a botanist. Several species, such as Père David's deer, are named after him — b ...

(1826–1900) – Lazarist priest, zoologist, and botanist who did important work in these fields in China *

Francesco Denza Francesco Denza (7 June 1834 – 14 December 1894) was an Italian meteorologist and astronomer. Biography Francesco Denza was born on 7 June 1834 in Naples. He joined the Barnabites at the age of sixteen, and during his theological course at Rom ...

(1834–1894) – Barnabite meteorologist, astronomer, and director of Vatican Observatory *

Václav Prokop Diviš Václav () is a Czech male first name of Slavic origin, sometimes translated into English as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas. These forms are derived from the old Slavic/Czech form of this name: Venceslav. Nicknames are: Vašek, Vašík, Venca, Venda Fo ...

(1698–1765) – Czech priest who studied electrical phenomenons and constructed, among other inventions, the first electrified musical instrument in history *

Johann Dzierzon Johann Dzierzon, or Jan Dzierżon or Dzierżoń , also John Dzierzon (16 January 1811 – 26 October 1906), was a Polish apiarist who discovered the phenomenon of parthenogenesis in bees. Dzierzon came from a Polish family in Silesia. Trained ...

(1811–1906) – priest and pioneering apiarist who discovered the phenomenon of parthenogenesis among bees, and designed the first successful movable-frame beehive; has been described as the "father of modern apiculture"

F

* Francesco Faà di Bruno (c. 1825–1888) – priest and mathematician beatified by Pope John Paul II * Honoré Fabri (1607–1688) – Jesuit mathematician and physicist *

Jean-Charles de la Faille Jean-Charles della Faille ( Dutch: Jan-Karel della Faille, Spanish: Juan Carlos della Faille), born in Antwerp, 1 March 1597 and died in Barcelona, 4 November 1652, was a Flemish Jesuit priest from Brabant, and a mathematician of repute. He ...

(1597–1652) – Jesuit mathematician who determined the center of gravity of the sector of a circle for the first time *

Gabriele Falloppio Gabriele Falloppio (also Gabrielle Falloppia) (1522/23 – 9 October 1562) was an Italian anatomist often known by his Latin name Fallopius. He was one of the most important anatomists and physicians of the sixteenth century, giving his name to ...

(1523–1562) – canon and one of the most important anatomists and physicians of the sixteenth century; the Fallopian tubes, which extend from the uterus to the ovaries, are named for him * Gyula Fényi (1845–1927) – Jesuit astronomer and director of the Haynald Observatory; noted for his observations of the sun; the crater Fényi on the Moon is named after him *

Louis Feuillée Louis Éconches Feuillée (sometimes spelled Feuillet) (1660, Mane, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Mane (; oc, Mana) is a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. It lies near Forcalquier. It was the birthplace of L ...

(1660–1732) – Minim explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist * Kevin T. FitzGerald (1955–) – American molecular biologist and holds the Dr. David Lauler chair in Catholic Health Care Ethics at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Placidus Fixlmillner Dom Placidus Fixlmillner, O.S.B., (May 28, 1721 – August 27, 1791) was a Benedictine monk and priest and was one of the first astronomers to compute the orbit of Uranus. Biography Born in the village of Achleuthen Schloss Achleiten bei Limb ...

(1721–1791) – Benedictine priest and one of the first astronomers to compute the orbit of Uranus *

Paolo Frisi Paolo Frisi (13 April 1728 – 22 November 1784) was an Italian mathematician and astronomer. Biography Frisi was born in Melegnano in 1728; his sibling Antonio Francesco, born in 1735, went on to be a historian. Frisi was educated at the ...

(1728–1784) – priest, mathematician, and astronomer who did significant work in hydraulics * José Gabriel Funes (1963–) – Jesuit astronomer and former director of the Vatican Observatory * (1787–1837) – priest and physicist born in Vieste and working in Naples

G

* Joseph Galien (1699 – c. 1762) – Dominican professor who wrote on aeronautics, hailstorms, and airships * Jean Gallois (1632–1707) – French scholar, abbot, and member of Académie des Sciences * Leonardo Garzoni (1543–1592) – Jesuit natural philosopher; author of the first known example of a modern treatment of magnetic phenomena *

(1592–1655) – French priest, astronomer, and mathematician who published the first data on the transit of Mercury; best known intellectual project attempted to reconcile Epicurean atomism with Christianity * Antoine Gaubil (1689–1759) – French astronomer who was the director general of the College of Interpreters at the court of China between 1741 and 1759 and centralized information provided by the Jesuit observatories throughout the world *

Agostino Gemelli Agostino Gemelli (18 January 1878 – 15 July 1959) was an Italian Franciscan friar, physician and psychologist, who was also the founder and first Rector of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) of M ...

(1878–1959) – Franciscan physician and psychologist; founded Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan * Niccolò Gianpriamo (1686–1759) – Italian Jesuit, missionary and astronomer *

Giuseppe Maria Giovene Giuseppe Maria Giovene (23 January 1753 – 2 January 1837) was an Italian archpriest, naturalist, agronomist, geologist, meteorologist, entomologist and ichthyologist. elogio-storico, pag. 9, note 8 He is best known for his studies on the "nit ...

(1753–1837) – Italian archpriest, naturalist, meteorologist, agronomist and entomologist *

Johannes von Gmunden :''Johannes von Gmünd is also the name of a 14th-century architect, see Basel Münster.'' Johannes von Gmunden ( la, Johannes de Gamundia; c. 1380/84 – February 23, 1442) was a German/Austrian astronomer, mathematician, humanist and early i ...

(c. 1380 – 1442) – canon, mathematician, and astronomer who compiled astronomical tables; Asteroid 15955 Johannesgmunden named in his honor *

Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora Don Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora (August 14, 1645 – August 22, 1700) was one of the first great intellectuals born in the New World - Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain ( Mexico City). He was a criollo patriot, exalting New Spain over O ...

(1645–1700) – priest, polymath, mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer; drew the first map of all of New Spain * Gilles-François de Gottignies (1630–1689) – Belgian Jesuit mathematician and astronomer. * Andrew Gordon (1712–1751) – Benedictine monk, priest, physicist, and inventor who made the first electric motor * Giovanni Antonio Grassi (1775–1849) – Jesuit astronomer who calculated the longitude of Washington, D.C. *

Orazio Grassi Orazio Grassi, S.J. (b. Savona 1 May 1583 – d. Rome 23 July 1654), was an Italian Jesuit priest, who is best noted as a mathematician, astronomer and architect. He was one of the authors in controversy with Galileo Galilei on the nature of com ...

(1583–1654) – Jesuit mathematician, astronomer and architect; engaged in controversy with Galileo on the subject of comets *

Christoph Grienberger Christoph (Christophorus) Grienberger (also variously spelled Gruemberger, Bamberga, Bamberger, Banbergiera, Gamberger, Ghambergier, Granberger, Panberger) (2 July 1561 – 11 March 1636) was an Austrian Jesuit astronomer, after whom the crat ...

(1561–1636) – Jesuit astronomer after whom the crater Gruemberger on the Moon is named; verified Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's moons. *

(1618–1663) – Jesuit who discovered the diffraction of light (indeed coined the term "diffraction"), investigated the free fall of objects, and built and used instruments to measure geological features on the moon *

(c. 1175 – 1253) – bishop who was one of the most knowledgeable men of the Middle Ages; has been called "the first man ever to write down a complete set of steps for performing a scientific experiment" * Johann Grueber (1623–1680) – Jesuit missionary and astronomer in China *

Paul Guldin Paul Guldin (born Habakkuk Guldin; 12 June 1577 ( Mels) – 3 November 1643 (Graz)) was a Swiss Jesuit mathematician and astronomer. He discovered the Guldinus theorem to determine the surface and the volume of a solid of revolution. (This the ...

(1577–1643) – Jesuit mathematician and astronomer who discovered the Guldinus theorem to determine the surface and the volume of a solid of revolution *

Bartolomeu de Gusmão Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (December 1685 – 18 November 1724) was a Brazilian-born Portuguese priest and naturalist, who was a pioneer of lighter-than-air airship design. Early life Gusmão was born at Santos, then part of the Portugue ...

(1685–1724) – Jesuit known for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design

H

* Johann Georg Hagen (1847–1930) – Jesuit director of the Georgetown and Vatican Observatories; the crater Hagen on the Moon is named after him *

Frank Haig Frank Rawle Haig, S.J. (born September 11, 1928) is an American Jesuit priest, physicist and academic administrator. He served as the third President of Wheeling Jesuit University from 1966 to 1972 and the seventh President of Le Moyne College ...

(1928–) – American physics professor * Nicholas Halma (1755–1828) – French abbot, mathematician, and translator * Jean-Baptiste du Hamel (1624–1706) – French priest, natural philosopher, and secretary of the Academie Royale des Sciences *

René Just Haüy René Just Haüy () FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre Dame. Due to his innovative work on crystal structure and hi ...

(1743–1822) – priest known as the father of

crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The wo ...

* Maximilian Hell (1720–1792) – Jesuit astronomer and director of the Vienna Observatory who wrote astronomy tables and observed the

Transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a tra ...

; the crater Hell on the Moon is named after him * Michał Heller (1936–) – Polish priest, Templeton Prize winner, and prolific writer on numerous scientific topics *

Lorenz Hengler Lorenz Hengler (3 February 1806 – 1858) was a Catholic priest, astronomer, and aeronaut, the first of three people to independently invent the horizontal pendulum. Life Hengler was born to a family of farmers in Reichenhofen, Württemberg. At t ...

(1806–1858) – priest often credited as the inventor of the horizontal pendulum *

Hermann of Reichenau Blessed Hermann of Reichenau (18 July 1013– 24 September 1054), also known by other names, was an 11th-century Benedictine monk and scholar. He composed works on history, music theory, mathematics, and astronomy, as well as many hymns. H ...

(1013–1054) – Benedictine historian, music theorist, astronomer, and mathematician *

Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

(1735–1809) – Jesuit philologer and discoverer of the Austronesian language family. *

Pierre Marie Heude Pierre Marie Heude (25 June 1836 – 3 January 1902) was a French Jesuit missionary and zoologist. Life Born at Fougères in the Department of Ille-et-Vilaine, Heude became a Jesuit in 1856 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1867. He went to C ...

(1836–1902) – Jesuit missionary and zoologist who studied the natural history of Eastern Asia *

Franz von Paula Hladnik Franz de Paula Hladnik (29 March 1773 – 25 November 1844) was a Carniolan botanist and schoolmaster. He was born in Idria, Carniola, then in Austria (now Slovenia), the son of a mining official. He studied philosophy and theology and became ...

(1773–1844) – priest and botanist who discovered several new kinds of plants, and certain genera have been named after him *

Giovanni Battista Hodierna Giovanni Battista Hodierna, also spelled as Odierna (April 13, 1597 – April 6, 1660) was an Italian astronomer at the court of Giulio Tomasi, Duke of Palma (Palma di Montechiaro). He compiled a catalogue of comets and other celestial objects ...

(1597–1660) – priest and astronomer who catalogued nebulous objects and developed an early microscope * Johann Baptiste Horvath (1732–1799) – Hungarian physicist who taught physics and philosophy at the University of Tyrnau, later of Buda, and wrote many Newtonian textbooks *

Victor-Alphonse Huard Victor-Alphonse Huard (born Joseph-Alphonse, sometimes given as Joseph-Victor Alphonse; 28 February 1853 – 15 October 1929) was a French-Canadian churchman, naturalist, writer and editor. He was a popular educator and promoter of the natural sc ...

(1853–1929) – priest, naturalist, educator, writer, and promoter of the natural sciences

I

* Maximus von Imhof (1758–1817) – German Augustinian physicist and director of the Munich Academy of Sciences * Giovanni Inghirami (1779–1851) – Italian Piarist astronomer who has a valley on the moon named after him as well as a crater

J

Frans Alfons Janssens Frans Alfons Janssens ( Sint-Niklaas 23 July 1865 - Wichelen, 8 October 1924) was Catholic priest and the discoverer of crossing-over of genes during meiosis, which he called 'chiasmatypie'. His work was continued by the Nobel Prize winner Thom ...

(1865–1924) – Catholic priest and the discoverer of crossing-over of genes during meiosis, which he called 'chiasmatypie' * François Jacquier (1711–1788) – Franciscan mathematician and physicist; at his death he was connected with nearly all the great scientific and literary societies of Europe * Stanley Jaki (1924–2009) – Benedictine priest and prolific writer who wrote on the relationship between science and theology *

Ányos Jedlik Ányos István Jedlik ( hu, Jedlik Ányos István; sk, Štefan Anián Jedlík; in older texts and publications: la, Stephanus Anianus Jedlik; 11 January 1800 – 13 December 1895) was a Hungarian inventor, engineer, physicist, and Bened ...

(1800–1895) – Benedictine engineer, physicist, and inventor; considered by Hungarians and Slovaks to be the unsung father of the dynamo and electric motor

K

Georg Joseph Kamel Georg Joseph Kamel (; la, Georgius Josephus Camellus; cz, Jiří Josef Kamel; es, Jorge Camel; 12 April 1661 – 2 May 1706) was a Jesuit missionary, pharmacist and naturalist known for producing the first comprehensive accounts of Philippine f ...

(1661–1706) – Jesuit missionary and botanist who established the first pharmacy in the Philippines; the genus ''

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controvers ...

'' is named for him *

Eusebio Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born i ...

(1645–1711) – Jesuit missionary, mathematician, astronomer and cartographer; drew maps based on his explorations first showing that California was not an island, as then believed; published an astronomical treatise in Mexico City of his observations of the Kirsch comet * Otto Kippes (1905–1994) – priest acknowledged for his work in asteroid orbit calculations; the main belt asteroid 1780 Kippes was named in his honour *

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to ...

(1602–1680) – Jesuit who has been called the father of Egyptology and "Master of a hundred arts"; wrote an encyclopedia of China; one of the first people to observe microbes through a microscope; in his ''Scrutinium Pestis'' of 1658 he noted the presence of "little worms" or "animalcules" in the blood, and concluded that the disease was caused by micro-organisms; this is antecedent to

germ theory The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or "germs" can lead to disease. These small organisms, too small to be seen without magnification, invade ...

* Wenceslas Pantaleon Kirwitzer (1588–1626) – Jesuit astronomer and missionary to China who published observations of comets *

Jan Krzysztof Kluk Jan Krzysztof Kluk (September 13, 1739 – July 2, 1796) was a Polish naturalist agronomist and entomologist. He was the son of Jan Krzysztof Adrian and Marianna Elżbieta. His father, an impoverished nobleman, was a building contractor and ...

(1739–1796) – priest, naturalist agronomist, and entomologist who wrote a multi-volume work on Polish animal life * Marian Wolfgang Koller (1792–1866) – Benedictine professor who wrote on astronomy, physics, and meteorology *

Franz Xaver Kugler Franz Xaver Kugler (27 November 1862 – 25 January 1929) was a German chemist, mathematician, Assyriologist, and Jesuit priest.. Kugler was born in Königsbach, Palatinate, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. He earned a Ph.D. in chemist ...

(1862–1929) – Jesuit chemist, mathematician, and Assyriologist who is most noted for his studies of cuneiform tablets and Babylonian astronomy

L

* Ramon Llull (c. 1232 – c. 1315) – Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and a Franciscan tertiary considered a pioneer of computation theory *

Nicolas Louis de Lacaille Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille (; 15 March 171321 March 1762), formerly sometimes spelled de la Caille, was a French astronomer and geodesist who named 14 out of the 88 constellations. From 1750 to 1754, he studied the sky at the Cape of Good ...

(1713–1762) – French deacon and astronomer noted for cataloguing stars, nebulous objects, and constellations * Joseph-Clovis-Kemner Laflamme (1849–1910) – chair of mineralogy and geology at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Mont ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the Royal Society of Canada from 1891 to 1892, and chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

* Eugene Lafont (1837–1908) – Jesuit physicist, astronomer, and founder of the first Scientific Society in India *

Antoine de Laloubère Antoine de Laloubère, also Lalouvère and other forms, (24 August 1600 – 2 September 1664), a Jesuit, born in Languedoc (Rieux-Volvestre, where his family had a castle), is chiefly known for an incorrect solution of Pascal's problems on the cy ...

(1600–1664) – Jesuit and first mathematician to study the properties of the helix *

Bernard Lamy Bernard Lamy (15 June 1640 – 29 January 1715) was a French Oratorian, mathematician and theologian. Life Lamy was born in Le Mans, France. After studying there, he went to join the Maison d'Institution in Paris, and to Saumur thereafter. In ...

(1640–1715) – Oratorian philosopher and mathematician who wrote on the parallelogram of forces *

Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga (Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . ...

(1771–1848) – Uruguayan priest, naturalist and botanist who made important contributions to these scientific disciplines. He was a decisive influence behind the foundation of the National Library of Uruguay and the National University of Uruguay. His face appears on the 2000 Uruguayan peso banknotes. *

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoology, zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained hi ...

(1762–1833) – priest and entomologist whose works describing insects assigned many of the insect taxa still in use today *

(1894–1966) – Belgian priest and father of the

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from t ...

theory *

Émile Licent Émile Licent (1876–1952; with the adopted Chinese name, 桑志华, while he was working in China) was a French Jesuit trained as a natural historian. He spent more than twenty-five years researching in Tianjin. His expeditions spread across var ...

(1876–1952) – French Jesuit trained as a natural historian; spent more than 25 years researching in Tianjin, China * Joseph Liesganig (1719–1799) – Austrian astronomer and geodesist who managed the Jesuit observatory in Vienna between 1756 and 1773 *

Thomas Linacre Thomas Linacre or Lynaker ( ; 20 October 1524) was an English humanist scholar and physician, after whom Linacre College, Oxford, and Linacre House, a boys' boarding house at The King's School, Canterbury, are named. Linacre was more of a schola ...

(c. 1460 – 1524) – English priest, humanist, translator, and physician * Francis Line (1595–1675) – Jesuit magnetic clock and sundial maker who disagreed with some of the findings of Newton and Boyle *

Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (Juan Caramuel de Lobkowitz, 23 May 1606 in Madrid — 7 or 8 September 1682 in Vigevano) was a Spanish Catholic scholastic philosopher, ecclesiastic, mathematician and writer. He is believed to be a great-grandson of J ...

(1606–1682) – Cistercian who wrote on a variety of scientific subjects, including probability theory *

João de Loureiro João de Loureiro (1717, Lisbon – 18 October 1791) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist. Biography After receiving admission to the Jesuit Order, João de Loureiro served as a missionary in Goa, capital of Portuguese India ...

(1717–1791) – Portuguese mathematician and botanist active in Cochinchina

M

Jean Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabi ...

(1632–1707) – Benedictine monk and scholar, considered the founder of

palaeography Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

and

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, ...

* James B. Macelwane (1883–1956) – Jesuit seismologist who contributed a volume to the first textbook on seismology in America *

John MacEnery John MacEnery (27 November 1796 – 18 February 1841) was a Roman Catholic priest from Limerick, Ireland and early archaeologist who came to Devon as Chaplain to the Cary family at Torre Abbey in 1822. In 1825, 1826 and 1829, he investigated the ...

(1797–1841) – archaeologist who investigated the Palaeolithic remains at

Kents Cavern Kents Cavern is a cave system in Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable for its archaeological and geological features. The cave system is open to the public and has been a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1952 and a Schedul ...

* Manuel Magri (1851–1907) – Jesuit ethnographer, archaeologist and writer; one of Malta's pioneers in archaeology *

Emmanuel Maignan Emmanuel Maignan (Emanuel) (b. at Toulouse, 17 July 1601; d. at Toulouse, 29 October 1676) was a French physicist and Catholic Minimite theologian. His writings were particularly influential in Spain, where they were resisted by his fellow Minim ...

(1601–1676) – Minim physicist and professor of medicine who published works on gnomonics and perspective * Christopher Maire (1697–1767) – Jesuit astronomer and mathematician who collaborated with

Roger Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich ( hr, Ruđer Josip Bošković; ; it, Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich; la, Rogerius (Iosephus) Boscovicius; sr, Руђер Јосип Бошковић; 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a physicist, astronomer, ...

on calculations of the arc of the meridian * (1724–1793) – Hungarian mathematician and physicist who taught mathematics, experimental physics and mechanics at the Vienna Theresianum and had a part in the preparation of the ''Ratio educationis'' (1777), which reformed the imperial teaching system in the spirit of Enlightenment * Charles Malapert (1581–1630) – Jesuit writer, astronomer, and proponent of Aristotelian cosmology; also known for observations of sunpots, the lunar surface, and the southern sky; the crater Malapert on the Moon is named after him *

Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the ...

(1638–1715) – Oratorian philosopher who studied physics, optics, and the laws of motion and disseminated the ideas of Descartes and Leibniz *

Marcin of Urzędów Marcin of Urzędów ( pl, Marcin z Urzędowa, ; ca. 1500–1573) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, physician, pharmacist and botanist known especially for his ''Herbarz polski'' ("Polish Herbal"). Marcin, son of Szymon, was born ca. 1500- ...

(c. 1500 – 1573) – priest, physician, pharmacist, and botanist *

Joseph Maréchal Joseph Maréchal, SJ (; 1 July 1878 – 11 December 1944) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, philosopher, theologian and psychologist. He taught at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the University of Leuven and was the founder of the school o ...

(1878–1944) – Jesuit philosopher and psychologist *

Edme Mariotte Edme Mariotte (; ; c. 162012 May 1684) was a French physicist and priest (abbé). He is particularly well known for formulating Boyle's law independently of Robert Boyle. Mariotte is also credited with designing the first Newton's cradle. Biogr ...

(c. 1620 – 1684) – priest and physicist who recognized Boyle's Law and wrote about the nature of color *

Francesco Maurolico Francesco Maurolico (Latin: ''Franciscus Maurolycus''; Italian: ''Francesco Maurolico''; gr, Φραγκίσκος Μαυρόλυκος, 16 September 1494 - 21/22 July 1575) was a mathematician and astronomer from Sicily. He made contributions t ...

(1494–1575) – Benedictine who made contributions to the fields of geometry, optics, conics, mechanics, music, and astronomy, and gave the first known proof by mathematical induction * Christian Mayer (astronomer) (1719–1783) – Jesuit astronomer most noted for pioneering the study of binary stars * James Robert McConnell (1915–1999) – Irish theoretical physicist, pontifical academician, Monsignor * Michael C. McFarland (1948–) – American computer scientist and president of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts * Paul McNally (1890–1955) – Jesuit astronomer and director of Georgetown Observatory; the crater McNally on the Moon is named after him *

William W. Meissner William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

(1931–2010) – Jesuit psychiatrist and psychoanalytic theorist, recipient of the Oskar Pfister Award and

William C. Bier Award William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

(1822–1884) – Augustinian monk and father of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...

* Pietro Mengoli (1626–1686) – priest and mathematician who first posed the famous Basel Problem *

Giuseppe Mercalli Giuseppe Mercalli (21 May 1850 – 19 March 1914) was an Italian volcanologist and Catholic priest. He is known best for the Mercalli intensity scale for measuring earthquake intensity. Biography Born in Milan, Mercalli was ordained a Roman C ...

(1850–1914) – priest, volcanologist, and director of the Vesuvius Observatory who is best remembered today for his Mercalli scale for measuring earthquakes which is still in use *

(1588–1648) – Minim philosopher, mathematician, and music theorist, so-called "father of acoustics" * Paul of Middelburg (1446–1534) – Bishop who wrote on the reform of the calendar *

Maciej Miechowita Maciej Miechowita (also known as ''Maciej z Miechowa, Maciej of Miechów, Maciej Karpiga, Matthias de Miechow''; 1457 – 8 September 1523) was a Polish renaissance scholar, professor of Jagiellonian University, historian, chronicler, geogra ...

(1457–1523) – canon who wrote the first accurate geographical and ethnographical description of Eastern Europe, as well as two medical treatises * François-Napoléon-Marie Moigno (1804–1884) – Jesuit physicist and mathematician; was an expositor of science and translator rather than an original investigator *

Juan Ignacio Molina Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (a form of Abbot M ...

(1740–1829) – Jesuit naturalist, historian, botanist, ornithologist and geographer *

Gerald Molloy Gerald Molloy (born at Mount Tallant House, near Dublin, 10 September 1834; died at Aberdeen, 1 October 1906) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, theologian and scientist. Life He was educated at Castleknock College, and subsequently went to M ...

(1834–1906) – Irish priest, professor of natural philosophy at (and later Rector of) the

Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ga, Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a private Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University o ...

, and expert on electricity *

Louis Moréri Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was a French priest and encyclopedist. Life Moréri was born in 1643 in Bargemon, a village in the ancient province of Provence. His great-grandfather, Joseph Chatranet, a native of Dijon, had set ...

(1643–1680) – 17th-century priest and encyclopaedist *

Theodorus Moretus Theodorus Moretus, also known as Theodor or Theodore Moretus (1602–1667) was a Flemish Jesuit priest who was also a mathematician, geometer, theologian and philosopher. He spent most of his working life in Prague and Breslau (now Wroclaw) wh ...

(1602–1667) – Jesuit mathematician and author of the first mathematical dissertations ever defended in Prague; the lunar crater Moretus is named after him * Roberto Landell de Moura (1861–1928) – Brazilian Jesuit, developing long-distance audio transmissions, using a variety of technologies, including an improved megaphone device. photophone (using light beams) and radio signals. *

Gabriel Mouton Gabriel Mouton (1618 – 28 September 1694) was a French abbot and scientist. He was a doctor of theology from Lyon, but was also interested in mathematics and astronomy. His 1670 book, the ''Observationes diametrorum solis et lunae apparent ...

(1618–1694) – abbot, mathematician, astronomer, and early proponent of the metric system *Jozef Murgaš (1864–1929) – priest who contributed to wireless telegraphy and helped develop mobile communications and wireless transmission of information and human voice *José Celestino Mutis (1732–1808) – canon, botanist, and mathematician who led the Royal Botanical Expedition of the New World

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*Bienvenido Nebres (1940–) – Filipino mathematician, president of Ateneo de Manila University, and an honoree of the National Scientist of the Philippines award *John Needham (1713–1781) – English biologist and Catholic priest *Antonio Neri (1576–1614) – Italian priest who wrote the first major treatise on the science of glassmaking *Jean François Niceron (1613–1646) – Minim mathematician who studied geometrical optics *Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) – cardinal, philosopher, jurist, mathematician, astronomer, and one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century *Julius Nieuwland (1878–1936) – Holy Cross priest, known for his contributions to acetylene research and its use as the basis for one type of synthetic rubber, which eventually led to the invention of neoprene by DuPont *Jean-Antoine Nollet (1700–1770) – abbot and physicist who discovered the phenomenon of osmosis in natural membranes

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*Hugo Obermaier (1877–1946) – priest, prehistorian, and anthropologist who is known for his work on the diffusion of mankind in Europe during the Ice Age, as well as his work with north Spanish cave art *

(c. 1288 – c. 1348) – Franciscan Scholastic who wrote significant works on logic, physics, and theology; known for Occam's razor-principle *

(c. 1323 – 1382) – one of the most famous and influential philosophers of the later Middle Ages; economist, mathematician, physicist, astronomer, philosopher, theologian and Bishop of Lisieux, and competent translator; one of the most original thinkers of the 14th century *Barnaba Oriani (1752–1832) – Barnabite geodesist, astronomer and scientist whose greatest achievement was his detailed research of the planet Uranus; also known for Oriani's theorem

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*Tadeusz Pacholczyk (1965–) – priest, neuroscientist and writer *Luca Pacioli (c. 1446–1517) – Franciscan friar who published several works on mathematics; often regarded as the "father of accounting" *Ignace-Gaston Pardies (1636–1673) – Jesuit physicist known for his correspondence with Newton and Descartes *Franciscus Patricius (1529–1597) – priest, cosmic theorist, philosopher, and Renaissance scholar *John Peckham (1230–1292) – Archbishop of Canterbury and early practitioner of experimental science *Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580–1637) – abbot and astronomer who discovered the Orion Nebula; lunar crater Peirescius named in his honor *Stephen Joseph Perry (1833–1889) – Jesuit astronomer and Fellow of the Royal Society; made frequent observations of Jupiter's satellites, of stellar occultations, of comets, of meteorites, of sun spots, and faculae *Giambattista Pianciani (1784–1862) – Jesuit mathematician and physicist who established the electric nature of aurora borealis *Giuseppe Piazzi (1746–1826) – Theatine mathematician and astronomer who discovered Ceres, today known as the largest member of the asteroid belt; also did important work cataloguing stars *Jean Picard (1620–1682) – priest and first person to measure the size of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy; also developed what became the standard method for measuring the right ascension of a celestial object; the PICARD mission, an orbiting solar observatory, is named in his honor *Edward Pigot (1858–1929) – Jesuit seismologist and astronomer *Alexandre Guy Pingré (1711–1796) – French priest astronomer and naval geographer; the crater Pingré on the Moon is named after him, as is the asteroid 12719 Pingré *Andrew Pinsent (1966–) – priest whose current research includes the application of insights from autism and social cognition to 'second-person' accounts of moral perception and character formation; his previous scientific research contributed to the DELPHI experiment at CERN *Jean Baptiste François Pitra (1812–1889) – Benedictine cardinal, archaeologist and theologian who noteworthy for his great archaeological discoveries *Charles Plumier (1646–1704) – Minim friar who is considered one of the most important botanical explorers of his time *Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt (1728–1810) – Jesuit astronomer and mathematician; granted the title of the King's Astronomer; the crater Poczobutt on the Moon is named after him; taught astronomy at Vilna University (1764–1808), managed its observatory and was the rector of Vilna University between 1777 and 1808 *Léon Abel Provancher (1820–1892) – priest and naturalist devoted to the study and description of the fauna and flora of Canada; his pioneer work won for him the appellation of the "father of natural history in Canada"

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*Claude Rabuel (1669–1729) – Jesuit mathematician who analyzed Descartes's ''Géométrie'' *Louis Receveur (1757–1788) – Franciscan naturalist and astronomer; described as being as close as one could get to being an ecologist in the 18th century *Franz Reinzer (1661–1708) – Jesuit who wrote an in-depth meteorological, astrological, and political compendium covering topics such as comets, meteors, lightning, winds, fossils, metals, bodies of water, and subterranean treasures and secrets of the earth *Louis Rendu (1789–1859) – bishop who wrote an important book on the mechanisms of glacial motion; the Rendu Glacier, Alaska, US and Mount Rendu, Antarctica are named for him *Vincenzo Riccati (1707–1775) – Italian Jesuit mathematician and physicist *Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) – one of the founding fathers of the Jesuit China Mission and co-author of the first European-Chinese dictionary *

(1598–1671) – Jesuit astronomer who authored ''Almagestum novum'', an influential encyclopedia of astronomy; the first person to measure the rate of acceleration of a freely falling body; created a selenograph with Father Grimaldi that now adorns the entrance at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; first to note that Mizar (star), Mizar was a "double star" *Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) – abbot, renowned clockmaker, and one of the initiators of western trigonometry * (1881–1939) – Spanish astronomer and director of Observatorio del Ebro, wrote ''El Firmamento'' *Johannes Ruysch (c. 1460 – 1533) – priest, explorer, cartographer, and astronomer who created the second oldest known printed representation of the New World

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*Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri (1667–1733) – Jesuit mathematician and geometer who was perhaps the first European to write about Non-Euclidean geometry *Johannes de Sacrobosco (c. 1195 – c. 1256) – Irish monk and astronomer who wrote the authoritative medieval astronomy text ''Tractatus de Sphaera''; his ''Algorismus'' was the first text to introduce Hindu-Arabic numerals and procedures into the European university curriculum; the lunar crater Sacrobosco is named after him *Gregoire de Saint-Vincent (1584–1667) – Jesuit mathematician who made important contributions to the study of the hyperbola *Alphonse Antonio de Sarasa (1618–1667) – Jesuit mathematician who contributed to the understanding of logarithms *Christoph Scheiner (c. 1573 – 1650) – Jesuit physicist, astronomer, and inventor of the pantograph; wrote on a wide range of scientific subjects, including sunspots, leading to a dispute with Galileo Galilei *Wilhelm Schmidt (linguist) (1868–1954) – Austrian priest and missionary of The Society of the Divine Word; linguist, anthropologist, and ethnologist *Hermann Schmitz (entomologist) (1878–1960) – German Jesuit and entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera and Diptera. *George Schoener (1864–1941) – priest who became known in the United States as the "Padre of the Roses" for his experiments in rose breeding *Gaspar Schott (1608–1666) – Jesuit physicist, astronomer, and natural philosopher who is most widely known for his works on hydraulic and mechanical instruments *Franz Paula von Schrank (1747–1835) – priest, botanist, entomologist, and prolific writer *Berthold Schwarz (c. 14th century) – Franciscan friar and reputed inventor of gunpowder and firearms *Anton Maria Schyrleus of Rheita (1604–1660) – Capuchin astronomer and optician who built Kepler's telescope *George Mary Searle (1839–1918) – Paulist astronomer and professor who discovered six galaxies *Angelo Secchi (1818–1878) – Jesuit pioneer in astronomical spectroscopy and one of the first scientists to state authoritatively that the sun is a star; discovered the existence of solar spicules and drew an early map of Mars *Alessandro Serpieri (1823–1885) – priest, astronomer, and seismologist who studied shooting stars, and was the first to introduce the concept of the seismic radiant *Serafino Serrati (18th century) – Benedictine monk, attributed the invention of a steamboat, also made observations about aerostatic globes *Gerolamo Sersale (1584–1654) – Jesuit astronomer and selenographer; his map of the moon can be seen in the Naval Observatory of San Fernando; the lunar crater Sirsalis is named after him *Benedict Sestini (1816–1890) – Jesuit astronomer, mathematician and architect; studied sunspots and eclipses; wrote textbooks on a variety of mathematical subjects *René François Walter de Sluse (1622–1685) – canon and mathematician with a family of curves named after him *Domingo de Soto (1494–1560) – Spanish Dominican priest and professor at the University of Salamanca; in his commentaries to Aristotle he proposed that free-falling bodies undergo constant acceleration *Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) – priest, biologist, and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and essentially discovered echolocation; his research of biogenesis paved the way for the investigations of Louis Pasteur *Valentin Stansel (1621–1705) – Jesuit astronomer in Brazil, who discovered a comet, which, after accurate positions were made via F. de Gottignies in Goa, became known as the Estancel-Gottignies comet *Johan Stein (1871–1951) – Jesuit astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, which he modernized and relocated to Castel Gandolfo; the crater Stein on the far side of the Moon is named after him *

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686

*Martin Waldseemüller (c. 1470 – 1520) – German priest and cartographer who, along with Matthias Ringmann, is credited with the first recorded usage of the word America *Erich Wasmann (1859–1931) – Austrian entomologist known for Wasmannian mimicry *Godefroy Wendelin (1580–1667) – priest and astronomer who recognized that Kepler's third law applied to the satellites of Jupiter; the lunar crater Vendelinus is named in his honor *Johannes Werner (1468–1522) – priest, mathematician, astronomer, and geographer *Witelo (c. 1230 – after 1280, before 1314) – friar, physicist, natural philosopher, and mathematician; lunar crater Vitello named in his honor; his ''Perspectiva'' powerfully influenced later scientists, in particular Johannes Kepler *Julian Tenison Woods (1832–1889) – Passionist geologist and mineralogist *Theodor Wulf (1868–1946) – Jesuit physicist who was one of the first experimenters to detect excess atmospheric radiation *Franz Xaver von Wulfen (1728–1805) – Jesuit botanist, mineralogist, and alpinist

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*Leonardo Ximenes (1711–1786) – Italian physicist and astronomer, specialist of hydraulics, creator and director of the Observatory San Giovanino in Florence

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*John Zahm (1851–1921) – Holy Cross priest and South American explorer *Giuseppe Zamboni (1776–1846) – priest and physicist who invented the Zamboni pile, an early electric battery similar to the Voltaic pile *Francesco Zantedeschi (1797–1873) – priest who was among the first to recognize the marked absorption by the atmosphere of red, yellow, and green light; published papers on the production of electric currents in closed circuits by the approach and withdrawal of a magnet, thereby anticipating Michael Faraday's classical experiments of 1831 *Thomas Zebrowski, Thomas Żebrowski (1714–1758) – Jesuit architect, mathematician, and astronomer; instrumental in establishing and funding the Observatory of Vilnius University. *Casimir Zeglen (1869–after 1927) – Polish American priest, invented a type of silk bulletproof vest *Niccolò Zucchi (1586–1670) – claimed to have tried to build a reflecting telescope in 1616 but abandoned the idea (maybe due to the poor quality of the mirror); may have been the first to see the belts on the planet Jupiter (1630)Gregerson, Erik, ''Astronomical Observations: Astronomy and the Study of Deep Space'', Rosen Education Service, 2009,

/ref> *Godefroy Zumoffen (1848–1928) – French Jesuit archaeologist and geologist notable for his work on prehistory in Lebanon *Giovanni Battista Zupi (c. 1590 – 1650) – Jesuit astronomer, mathematician, and first person to discover that the planet Mercury had orbital phases; the crater Zupus on the Moon is named after him

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The clergy-scientists

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Further reading