List of French scientists

This is a list of notable French scientists.

A

• José Achache (20th-21st centuries), geophysicist and ecologist
• Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783), mathematician, mechanician, physicist and philosopher
• Claude Allègre (1937–2025), geochemist
• Lucile Allorge (born 1937), botanist
• André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), physicist and mathematician
• Camille Arambourg (1885–1969), vertebrate palaeontologist.
• Françoise Ardré (1931–2010), phycologist, marine scientist
• Alain Aspect (born 1947), physicist

B

• Louis Bachelier (1870–1946), mathematician
• Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802–1876), chemist
• Éliane Basse (1899–1985), paleontologist and geologist
• Pierre-Dominique Bazaine (1786–1838), mathematician and engineer
• Jean de Beaurain (1696–1771), geographer
• Antoine César Becquerel (1788–1878), electrochemist
• Edmond Becquerel (1820–1891), physicist
• Henri Becquerel (1852–1908), physicist and Nobel laureate
• Jean Becquerel (1878–1953), physicist
• Léon Bence (1929–1987), physician
• Jacques Benoit (1896–1982), physician, biologist and neuroendocrinologist
• Claude Bernard (1813–1878), physiologist
• Marcellin Berthelot (1827–1907), chemist, opponent of vitalism
• Claude Louis Berthollet (1748–1822), chemist
• Julien Bessières (1777–1840), physician, diplomat, and member of the Egyptian Institute of Sciences and Arts
• Alfred Binet (1857–1911), psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test
• Prosper-René Blondlot (1849–1930), physicist
• Pierre Boiteau (1911–1980), botanist
• Jean Bosler (1878–1973), astronomer
• Marcellin Boule (1861–1942), palaeontologist, geologist, and anthropologist
• Claude Bourgelat (1712–1779), veterinary surgeon
• Thomas Bourgeron (born 1965), neuroscientist
• Jean-Baptiste Boussingault (1801–1887), chemist
• Gerard Brachet (born 1944), space scientist
• Paul Broca (1824–1880), physician, surgeon, anatomist, and anthropologist
• Louis de Broglie (1892–1987), physicist
• Bernard Brunhes (1867–1910), physicist
• Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788), naturalist and mathematician

C

• Bernard Cabane (born 1945), physicist and chemist
• Pierre Jean George Cabanis (1757–1808), physiologist
• Albert Calmette (1863–1933), physician, bacteriologist and immunologist
• Georges Canguilhem (1904–1995), physician and philosopher
• Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796–1832), physicist and military engineer
• Élie Cartan (1869–1951), mathematician
• Henri Cartan (1904–2008), mathematician
• Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789–1857), mathematician and physicist
• Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), philologist
• Jean-Pierre Changeux (born 1936), neurochemist

• Georges Charpak (1924–2010), physicist, Nobel prize winner 1992
• Georges Charpy (1865–1945), physicist and metallurgist
• Henry Louis Le Chatelier (1850–1936), chemist known for Le Chatelier's principle
• Albert Châtelet (1883–1960), mathematician
• Émilie du Châtelet (1706–1749), mathematician and physicist
• Jean Mathieu de Chazelles (1657–1710), professor of hydrography
• Michel Che (1941–2019), chemist
• Daniel Choquet (born 1962), neuroscientist
• Gustave Choquet (1915–2006), mathematician
• Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (1923–2025), mathematician
• Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu (1738–1810), explorer, hydrographer and politician
• Alain Connes (born 1947), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1982
• Louis Couffignal (1902–1966), mathematician and cybernetician
• Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806), physicist, discoverer of Coulomb's law

• Vincent Courtillot (born 1948), geophysicist
• Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910–1997), oceanographer
• Philippe Cousteau (1940–1979), oceanographer
• Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle (1748–1835), engineer, scientist and pioneer of ballooning
• Adam de Craponne (1526–1576), engineer who implemented the Canal de Craponne in 1559
• Jean Cruveilhier (1791–1874), anatomist and pathologist
• Marie Curie (1867–1934), physicist and chemist, two Nobel Prizes, in physics (1903) and chemistry (1911)
• Pierre Curie (1859–1906), physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize in physics (1903)
• Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), regarded as the founding father of palaeontology
• Boris Cyrulnik (born 1937), ethologist, neurologist, and psychiatrist

D

• Thomas-François Dalibard (1709–1778), physicist and botanist
• Henry Darcy (1803–1858), hydraulic engineer
• Michel Darluc (1717–1783), naturalist
• Raymond Daudel (1920–2006), quantum chemist
• Jean Dausset (1916–2009), biologist, Nobel prize winner 1980
• Suzanne Débarbat (1928–2024), astronomer and historian of science and technology
• André-Louis Debierne (1874–1949), chemist
• Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre (1749–1822), mathematician and astronomer
• Marcel Deprez (1843–1918), electrical engineer
• John Theophilus Desaguliers (1683–1744), natural philosopher (physicist)
• Guillaume Delisle (1675–1726), cartographer
• Girard Desargues (1591–1661), mathematician
• René Descartes (1596–1650), scientist and philosopher
• Robert Debré (1882–1978), physician
• Roland Douce (1939–2018), plant biologist

• Jean-Baptiste du Hamel (1624–1706), natural philosopher (physicist)
• Émilien Dumas (1804–1873), palaeontologist, and geologist
• Jean-Baptiste Dumas (1800–1884), chemist
• Charles François Dupuis (1742–1809), polymath and theologian

F

• Pierre Fauchard (1679–1761), physician, "the father of modern dentistry"
• Hervé Faye (1814–1902), astronomer
• Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665), mathematician
• Louis Feuillée (1660–1732), explorer, astronomer, geographer, and botanist
• Jacqueline Ficini (1923-1988), known for developing the synthetic chemistry of ynamine
• Bernard Foing (20–21st century), astronomer
• Léon Foucault (1819–1868), physicist
• Pierre Fourmanoir (1924–2007), ichthyologist
• Joseph Fourier (1768–1830), mathematician and physicist
• Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827), physicist known for work on optics

G

• Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (1932–2007), mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize in physics 1991
• Sophie Germain (1776–1831) mathematician, physicist and philosopher.
• Paul Gervais (1816–1879), palaeontologist and entomologist
• Jacques Géry (1917–2007), ichthyologist
• Mirko Grmek (1924–2000), historian of medicine
• Alexander Grothendieck (1928–2014), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1966 (German-born)
• Camille Guérin (1872–1961), biologist
• André Guinier (1911–2000), physicist

H

• Jacques Hadamard (1865–1963), mathematician
• Armand Havet (1795–1820), botanist
• Victor Henri (1872–1940), physical chemist and physiologist
• Charles Hermite (1822–1901), mathematician
• Catherine Hill (born 1946), epidemiologist and biostatistician
• Étienne Hubert d'Orléans (1567–1614), Arabist

J

• François Jacob (1920–2013), biologist, Nobel prize winner 1965
• Charles Janet (1849–1932), chemist and biologist
• Paul Janet (1823–1899), philosopher
• Irène Joliot-Curie (1897–1956), physicist, Nobel Prize winner 1935
• Frédéric Joliot-Curie (1900–1958), physicist, Nobel Prize winner 1935
• Jean Jouzel (born 1947), glaciologist and climatologist
• Gaston Julia (1893–1978), mathematician

K

• Nicole El Karoui (born 1944), mathematician
• Robert Kühner (1903–1996), mycologist
• Jean Kuntzmann (1912–1992), mathematician

L

• Michel de La Vigne (1588–1648), physician
• Yves Lacoste (born 1929), geographer and geopolitician
• Laurent Lafforgue (born 1966), mathematician; Fields Medalist 2002
• Frédéric de Lafresnaye (1783–1861), ornithologist
• Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736–1813), mathematician
• Jean Laherrère (born 1931), consultant and petroleum engineer
• Claude François Lallemand (1790–1854), physician and pathologist
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829), evolutionary biologist
• Paul Langevin (1872–1946), physicist
• Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827), mathematician and physicist
• François-de-Paule Latapie (1739–1823), botanist
• Lucien Laubier (1936–2008), oceanographer
• René Lavocat (1909–2007), paleontologist
• Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794), chemist
• Michel Lazdunski (born 1938), biochemist
• Eliane Le Breton (1897–1977), physiologist
• Xavier Le Pichon (1937–2025), geophysicist
• Alfred Legoyt (1812–1885), statistician
• Jean-Marie Lehn (born 1939), chemist, Nobel prize 1987
• Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond (born 1940), physicist
• Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009), anthropologist
• Arnoult de Lisle (1556–1613), Arabist and physician
• Pierre-Louis Lions (born 1956), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1994
• Edmond Locard (1877–1966), pioneer of forensic science
• André Lwoff (1902–1994), biologist, Nobel prize 1965

M

• Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), neurologist
• Charles Madic (1942–2008), radiochemist
• Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan (1678–1771), geophysicist, astronomer and chronobiologist
• Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010), mathematician
• Pierre Louis Maupertuis (1698–1759), mathematician and philosopher
• Prosper Ménière (1799–1862), doctor concerned with hearing loss and tinnitus
• Marin Mersenne (1588–1648), mathematician
• Charles Messier (1730–1817), astronomer
• André Michaux (1746–1802), botanist and explorer
• François André Michaux (1770–1855), botanist
• Jean-Louis Michel (born 1945), oceanographer and engineer
• Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835–1900), mammalologist and ornithologist
• Henri Milne-Edwards (1800–1885), zoologist
• Abraham de Moivre (1667–1754), mathematician
• Jacques Monod (1910–1976), biologist, Nobel prize winner 1965
• Théodore Monod (1902–2000), naturalist and theologian
• Gabriel Mouton (1618–1694), mathematician and astronomer

N–O

• Adolphe-Simon Neboux (1806–1844), surgeon and naturalist
• Louis Néel (1904–2000), physicist, Nobel Prize 1970
• André Niederlender (1890–1959), archaeologist
• Jean de Noailles (1739–1824), chemist
• Jean-Baptiste Noulet (1802–1890), archaeologist
• Hélène Olivier-Bourbigou (born 1962), chemist

P–Q

• Henri Padé (1863–1953), mathematician
• Paul Painlevé (1863–1933), mathematician and statesman
• Denis Papin (1647–1713), physicist, mathematician, and inventor
• Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), mathematician and philosopher
• Étienne Pascal (1588–1651), mathematician
• Louis Pasteur (1822–1895), microbiologist and chemist
• Jean Pecquet (1622–1674), psychologist
• Jean-Marie Pelt (1933–2015), botanist
• Jocelyne Pérard (born 1940), geographer
• Jean Robert Petit (21st century), paleoclimatologist
• Alphonse Pinart (1852–1911), philologist
• Gilles Pisier (born 1950), mathematician
• Hippolyte Pixii (1808–1835), inventor
• Henri Poincaré (1854–1912), mathematician and physicist
• Lucien Poincaré (1862–1920), physicist
• Siméon Poisson (1781–1840), mathematician and physicist
• Pierre Poivre (1719–1786), horticulturist and botanist
• Albéric Pont (1870–1960), dentist and pioneer in maxillofacial surgery
• Alberte Pullman (1920–2011), quantum chemist
• Bernard Pullman (1919–1996), quantum chemist
• Lucien Quélet (1832–1899), naturalist and mycologist

R

• Petrus Ramus (1515–1572), mathematician and logician
• Louis-Antoine Ranvier (1835–1922), physician, pathologist, anatomist and histologist
• Didier Raoult (born 1952), microbiologist and virologist
• René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683–1757), entomologist
• Jacques Ricard (1929–2018), biochemist
• Jean-Baptiste Robinet (1735–1820), naturalist
• Antoine Georges Roederer (born 1943), engineer and scientist
• Paul Rohmer (1876–1977), physician
• Michel Rolle (1652–1719), mathematician
• Henri Romagnesi (1912–1999), mycologist

• Jean Rostand (1894–1977), biologist and philosopher
• Louis Rougier (1889–1982), mathematician, physicist, and philosopher

S

• Nicolas Sarrabat (1698–1739), mathematician concerned with many aspects of science
• Henri Émile Sauvage (1842–1917), ichthyologist, paleontologist, and herpetologist

• Conrad Schlumberger (1878–1936), geophysicist
• Marcel Schlumberger (1884–1953), geophysicist
• Laurent Schwartz (1915–2002), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1950
• Géraud Sénizergues (born 1957), computer scientist and 2002 Gödel Prize recipient.
• Jean-Pierre Serre (born 1926), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1954

T

• Michel Talagrand (born 1952), mathematician
• Jules Tannery (1848–1910), mathematician
• Auguste Ambroise Tardieu (1818–1879), forensic medical scientist
• Haroun Tazieff (1914–1998), volcanologist and geologist
• Daniel Tauvry (1669–1701), physician
• Fabiola Terzi (20–21st century), physician-scientist
• Melchisédech Thévenot (c. 1620–1692), inventor of the spirit level
• Adrien-Jean-Pierre Thilorier (1790–1844), discoverer of dry ice
• Françoise Thom (born 1951), historian
• René Thom (1923–2002), mathematician; Fields Medal 1958
• Muriel Thomasset (born 1971), physicist
• Pierre-Marie-Jérôme Trésaguet (1716–1796), engineer and road builder

V–Y

• Georges Valiron (1884–1955), mathematician
• Jean-Pierre Vernant (1914–2007), historian
• Jean-Christophe Victor (1947–2016), geographer
• Paul-Émile Victor (1907–1995), ethnologist
• François Viète (1540–1603), mathematician
• Louis Pierre Vieillot (1748–1830), ornithologist
• Charles Athanase Walckenaer (1771–1852), geographer
• Wendelin Werner (born 1968), mathematician; Fields Medalist 2006 (German-born)
• Rachid Yazami (born 1953), engineer and inventor
• Jean-Christophe Yoccoz (1957–2016), mathematician; Fields Medalist 1994

Z

• Andrea Zitolo (born 1980), scientist in physical-chemistry

See also

• List of French people
• Lists of scientists