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 (born 1937), 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 (born 1923), 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
 * 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
 * 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 (born 1937), geophysicist
 * 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
 * Jean-Baptiste Robinet (1735–1820), naturalist
 * 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
 * François Trèves (born 1930), mathematician

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, scientist in phyisical-chemistry