User:The Polymath/Sandbox2

The following is a list related to the article, "Polymath." Polymaths are individuals who are noted for excelling in multiple fields or disciplines. A term often used in common parlance is "Renaissance Man," but this term is misleading as most polymaths did not live in the Renaissance and several were women. The term "polymath" is often used to describe those who excelled in both the arts and sciences. Many highly accomplished people were not polymaths, as they worked solely in one field. Also, the "math" segment of the term does not relate to whether the person has any connection to mathematics.

People with the widest range of knowledge are known as polyhistors (example Gottfried Leibniz).

Ancient and mediæval

 * Al-Farabi -- mathematician, philosopher, musician, contributions in medicine
 * Albertus Magnus -- alchemy, botany, mathematics, music theory, scholasticism, theology, and zoology
 * Archimedes -- mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, physicist and engineer
 * Aristotle -- philosopher, physicist, poet, zoologist, and biologist
 * Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius -- contributions in mathematics, music, philosophy, and politics
 * Avicenna -- physician, philosopher, and scientist
 * Averroës -- physician, mathematician, Islamic law
 * Chanakya -- politician, economist, philosopher, scholar
 * Eratosthenes -- Astronomer, geographer, mathematician, philosopher
 * Roger Bacon -- mathematician, alchemist, philosopher, scientist
 * Bede -- science, history, translation, literature, and theology
 * Biruni -- greatest contributions in mathematics, philosophy, medicine and science.
 * Abbas Ibn Firnas -- chemist, inventor, astronomer, physicist
 * Ge Hong -- philosopher, poet, alchemist, and biographer
 * Hildegard of Bingen -- contributions in theology, musical composition, medicine, botany, and constructed language
 * Hypatia -- mathematician, philosopher, and teacher
 * Imhotep -- poet, astronomer, mathematician, physician, architect, and artist
 * Julius Caesar -- general, politician, legislator, orator, author, engineer, priest
 * Omar Khayyam -- poet, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
 * Maimonides -- physician, rabbi, astronomer and philosopher
 * Nicolas Oresme -- economist, mathematician, physicist, theologian, translator, and musicologist
 * Ouyang Xiu -- statesman, historian, essayist, and poet
 * Plato -- Philosopher, poet, political theorist, mathematician, wrestler, educator
 * Michael Psellus -- historian, philosopher, philologist, scientist, and poet.
 * Ptolemy -- geographer, astronomer, and astrologer
 * Pythagoras -- mathematician and philosopher
 * Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Razi or Rhazes -- physician, chemist and philosopher
 * Shen Kua -- mathematician, engineer, general, and geologist
 * Wang Anshi -- economist, statesman, and poet
 * Wang Wei -- poet, musician, painter, and statesman
 * Zhang Heng -- poet, astronomer, mathematician, inventor, and artist

Renaissance

 * Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa -- magician, theologian, soldier, legal expert, astronomer, alchemist, and writer
 * Leone Battista Alberti -- painter, poet, philosopher, cryptographer, musician and architect
 * Francis Bacon -- philosopher, statesman, spy, essayist
 * Caspar Bartholin the Elder -- anatomy, theology, medicine, oration
 * Menasseh ben Israel -- rabbi, scholar, diplomat, and printer/publisher
 * Rudjer Boskovic -- contributions in mathematics. physics, philosophy
 * Sir Thomas Browne -- physician, philosopher, literature, medicine, religion, science
 * Jan Brożek — mathematician, physician, astronomer, first biographer of Copernicus.
 * Gerolamo Cardano -- mathematician, physician, natural philosopher, astrologer, inventor, cryptographer, gambler, chess player.
 * Nicolaus Copernicus -- astronomer, mathematician, economist, physician, lawyer, cleric, administrator, military leader, classics scholar.
 * James Crichton -- fencer, soldier, musician, polyglot, and debater
 * John Dee -- mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, occultist
 * Albrecht Dürer -- printer, painter, geometry, fortification, and mathematician
 * Desiderius Erasmus -- theologian, paedagogue, linguist & philologist, historian, exegete
 * Stjepan Gradić -- philosopher, scientist and mathematician
 * Huang Zongxi -- political theorist, philosopher, and soldier (China was not in a Renaissance, but he fits here chronologically)
 * Athanasius Kircher -- egyptology, geology, and music theory
 * Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz -- ecclesiastical administrator, mathematician, engineer, inventor, linguist, theologian, moralist
 * Girolamo Maggi -- scholar, jurist, poet, mathematician, military engineer, urban planner and naturalist
 * Nostradamus -- poet, doctor, sculptor, prophet
 * Garcia de Orta -- physician, botanist, natural philosopher, artist, politician
 * William Petty -- scientist, entrepreneur, physician, and philosopher
 * Christine de Pisan -- biographer, moralist, poet, proto-feminist thinker
 * Giambattista della Porta -- cryptographer, botanist, astronomer, writer
 * Leonardo da Vinci -- engineer, physician, painter, inventor, architect, musician, composer, astrologer, alchemist
 * Faust Vrančić -- lexicographer, philosopher, inventor. historian
 * Theodor Zwinger -- doctor, ethicist, linguist

A to J

 * Pierre Beaumarchais -- watch-maker, inventor, author, musician, politician,, spy, publisher, arms-dealer, and revolutionary
 * Jeremy Bentham -- jurist, inventor, philosopher, mathematician, economist, and political commentator
 * Henry Brougham -- Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain who did work on porism(math), theology, and other areas.
 * Sir Richard Francis Burton -- explorer, linguist, anthropologist, diplomat and swordsman
 * Sir George Cayley -- naturalist, physical scientist, engineer, inventor and politician
 * Émilie du Châtelet -- physicist, mathematician, author, translator, singer
 * Anton Chekov -- physician,author
 * Temple Chevallier -- astronomy, meteorology, math, translation, theology
 * Erasmus Darwin -- physician, inventor, botanist, and poet
 * René Descartes -- mathematician, neuroscience, and philosophy
 * Liu E -- writer, musician, physician and entrepreneur
 * Leonhard Euler -- mathematician, physicist, economist, music theory
 * Benjamin Franklin -- politician, physicist, entrepreneur, printer, inventor, musician, diplomat and writer.
 * C.B. Fry -- cricketer, rugby player, athlete, football player, politician, writer/publisher, educator
 * Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -- novelist, poet, philosopher, scientist, mineralogist, essayist, literary critic
 * Alexander Hamilton -- political theorist, statesman, soldier, polemicist
 * G. W. F. Hegel -- philosopher, historian, art theorist, theologian, jurist
 * Thomas Hobbes -- political theorist, historian, optical scientist, translator, classicist
 * E.T.A. Hoffmann -- novelist, judge, composer, conductor, pianist, caricaturist, scenic designer
 * Robert Hooke -- experimental scientist, natural philosopher, biologist, physicist, architect, inventor
 * Alexander von Humboldt -- ethnographer, anthropologist, physicist, geologist, mineralogist, botanist, vulcanologist, geographer, climatologist, explorer and oceanographer
 * James Hutton -- physician, chemist, physicist, botanist, philosopher, linguist, geologist, farmer
 * Christiaan Huygens -- natural philosopher, horologist, astronomer, mathematician, inventor
 * Charles Thomas Jackson -- geologist, chemist, physicist, physician, inventor
 * Thomas Jefferson -- politician, statesman, architect, cryptographer, agriculturist, archaeologist, writer.

K to S

 * Gottfried Leibniz -- philosopher, mathematician, logician, scientist, engineer, historian, lawyer, diplomat, librarian, philologist, theologian, poet
 * Samuel Morse -- artist, politician, inventor, educator, cryptographer
 * John Muir -- environmentalist, inventor, engineer, and geologist.
 * Sir Isaac Newton -- mathematician, physicist, alchemist, theologian, economist, historian, inventor
 * Blaise Pascal -- mathematician, physicist, theologian, philosopher (logic, probability, and ethics)
 * Charles Willson Peale -- artist, naturalist, inventor, author
 * Charles Peirce -- philosopher, logician, mathematician, semiotician, geodesist,
 * José Rizal -- artist, educator, linguist, naturalist, physician, social scientist
 * Adam Smith -- jurist, (founding) economist, psychologist, historian, theologian, literary critic
 * Stanisław Staszic -- philosopher, statesman, geologist, poet, priest, and writer
 * Howard Staunton -- chess writer and world chess champion, actor, Shakespearean scholar, educationalist
 * Rudolf Steiner -- philosopher, literary scholar, architect, playwright, educator, social thinker, mystic

T to Z

 * James John Garth Wilkinson -- poet, philologist, doctor, philosopher
 * Thomas Young -- prodigy, physicist, physician, linguist, egyptologist
 * William Whewell -- philosopher, theologian, historian, scientist
 * Christopher Wren -- architect, astronomer and mathematician

A to D

 * Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) -- author or editor of over 400 books on a wide-range of subjects (in every major Dewey Decimal Classification except philosophy), association president (American Humanist Association), biochemist, club chairman, essayist, humanist, limericist, literary award winner (Hugo Award, Nebula Award), literary critic, magazine editor, lecturer, neologist, novelist (master of the science-fiction genre, and one of the "Big Three" of the golden age of science fiction), PhD, professor, public speaker, scholar, famed short story writer (I, Robot, and many others). Known as the "Great Explainer," and was virtually a mascot for Mensa.
 * Nicholas Murray Butler (1862-1947) -- academy president (American Academy of Arts and Letters), association president (Pilgrims Society), author, chief editor (Educational Review), conference chairman (Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration), dean, educator (President of Columbia University), fund raiser, international diplomat, lecturer, Nobel laureate (Nobel Peace Prize), NPO president and trustee (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), PhD, philanthropist, philosopher, politician (recurrent Republican National Convention delegate, U.S. vice presidential candidate), professor, public speaker, publisher, scholar. Referred to as "The last man who knew everything" and by the epithet "Nicholas Miraculous".
 * Otto Maria Carpeaux -- literary critic, chemist, mathematician, musicologist, political writer, screenplayer, essayist, physician, sociologist, historian
 * Kenneth E. Boulding -- economist, educator, poet, religious mystic, systems scientist, and interdisciplinary philosopher
 * George Washington Carver -- botanist, musician, artist, orator, athletic trainer and student leader
 * Nirad C. Chaudhuri -- historian, cultural critic, scholar of Victorian literature and art, travelogue writer, polyglot and interpreter of Eastern and Western philosophy, culture and society, connoisseur of Western Classical music, Western food and over 500 varieties of wine and strict practitioner of Victorian etiquette and dress code
 * Winston Churchill -- politician, journalist, author, historian, soldier, painter
 * A.J.Cronin --physician, author
 * Jared Diamond -- evolutionary biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and nonfiction author, conservationist, speaks a dozen languages

E to K

 * Thomas Alva Edison (1874 -1931) -- prolific inventor, chemist, engineer, entrepreneur, freethinker, genius, industrialist, industrial researcher, major patent holder (1,097 in the U.S. alone), film producer, monopolist, music producer (phonographs), publisher (co-founded Science), scientist, technologist, visionary. Known as the "Wizard of Menlo Park".
 * Richard Feynman -- physicist, mathematician, musician, lecturer, Nobel laureate (1965, Physics), aerospace accident investigator (Challenger disaster), PhD, practical joker, professor, writer, safe-cracker. Like Isaac Asimov, earned the informal title "The Great Explainer".
 * Moshé Feldenkrais -- engineer, physicist, judo expert, physical therapist
 * Francis Galton -- anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, statistician
 * Buckminster Fuller -- designer, metal-tradesman, architect, inventor, mathematician, spaceship earth theoretician
 * Murray Gell-Mann -- prodigy, professor of physics, international advisor on the environment, authority on the origin of languages, arms control and foreign relations, Nobel Prize winner
 * Hossein Gol-e-Golab -- botanist, musician, poet, translator; earned degrees in law & political science, but never practiced law
 * Piet Hein -- scientist, mathematician, inventor, author, poet, philosopher
 * Douglas Hofstadter -- author, cognitive scientist, composer, literary award winner (Pulitzer Prize), computer programmer, poet, PhD, philosopher, physicist, professor
 * Howard Hughes -- aviation pioneer, billionaire, engineer, entrepreneur, film producer, industrialist, inventor, pilot, real estate tycoon
 * William James -- (founding) psychologist, medical scholar, philosopher
 * William Stanley Jevons -- economist, logician, scientific methodology, (19th c.) computing engineer
 * Ashoka Jahnavi-Prasad --physician,earned degree in law from Harvard,engineering from Sheffield,elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
 * Alexandre Kojeve -- philosopher, jurist, politician, intellectual historian
 * David J. Krause -- engineer, deep sea diver, mathematician, rocket scientist, builder, designer, philosopher, futurist, musician, artist
 * Raymond Kurzweil -- author, electronic engineer, entrepreneur, inventor, philosopher, computer scientist, computer engineer, futurologist, musician, programmer, software engineer, transhumanist

L to R

 * Jaron Lanier -- computer scientist, inventor of the term "virtual reality", musician, artist, futurist
 * Somerset Maugham --physician,author
 * Jonathan Miller -- physician,playright
 * Story Musgrave -- mathematician, physicist, chemist, Astronaut, computer scientist, Heart Surgeon, author
 * John von Neumann -- mathematician, physicist, chemist, economist, computer scientist
 * Walter J. Ong -- communication theorist, literature, media studies, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, theology
 * Pier Paolo Pasolini -- philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, journalist, actor, painter
 * Linus Pauling -- 2-time Nobel laureate
 * John Robinson Pierce -- telecommunications pioneer, computer musician, science fiction author
 * Walter Pitts -- cognitive psychologist, Mathematical-logician, philosopher, Cyberneticist, Neuroscientist
 * Michael Polanyi -- physical chemist, philosopher, theologian, economist
 * Kukrit Pramoj -- author, economist, historian, novelist, philosopher, statesman
 * Anatol Rapoport -- mathematician, psychologist, concert pianist, general systems theorist, Game theorist
 * José Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda -- amateur architect, artist, amateur economist, educator, amateur ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, internationalist, inventor, journalist, mythologist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmologist, physician, poet, polyglot, propagandist, sculptor, amateur sociologist
 * Theodore Roosevelt -- author, bureaucrat, journalist, hunter, naturalist, soldier, politician (U.S. President), woodsman
 * John Ruskin -- artist, professor, architect, author, essayist, poet, art critic, social critic, art historians, geologist
 * Bertrand Russell -- author, essayist, mathematician, philosopher, political activist

S to Z

 * Albert Schweitzer -- philosopher, virtuoso organist (musician), humanitarian, theologian, physician
 * William James Sidis -- mathematics, law, Native American history, psychology, and language
 * Herbert Simon -- cognitive psychologist, computer scientist, economist and philosopher
 * Rabindranath Tagore -- poet, playwright, novelist, visual artist, song writer, philosopher, social worker
 * John Ronald Reuel Tolkien -- Poet, Novelist, linguist, Educator, European mythology expert.
 * Lewis Thomas -- physician, poet, etymologist, essayist, administrator, educator, policy advisor, and researcher.
 * Ludwig Wittgenstein -- cognitive philosopher, mathematical logician, architect, aeronautical engineer, composer
 * Stephen Wolfram -- computer program designer, physicist, artist, philosopher

Legendary/Culture Heroes/Fictional
Note: Some legendary figures might be based on actual polymaths whose history is not well-recorded. They do not belong in the main list because their existence is uncertain, but they are mentioned in the event that elements of their story prove true.


 * Atonga, Polynesian culture hero noted for starting music and canoeing.
 * Buckaroo Banzai, fictional and humorous science fiction character (a frequently-heard comment from adult fans: "I want to be Buckaroo when I grow up"). Talents include: physicist, neurosurgeon, martial artist, rock musician, race car driver, inventor, head of international crime-fighting team, has the President of the United States on speed-dial, and even has comic book (in his fictional world) chronicling his exploits.
 * Daedalus, architect, inventor, craftsman.
 * Odin, Norse deity of war and wisdom, known for his poetry, the study of magic, and credited with invention of writing.
 * Fu Hsi, Chinese culture hero who was said to have started writing, fishing, metallurgy and law.
 * Sherlock Holmes, fictional character based on a mix of Dr. Joseph Bell and author Arthur Conan Doyle; scientist, detective, martial artist, violinist.
 * Sundiata Keita, semi-historical legendary founder of the Mali Empire whose tales sometimes gave him a variety of skills (magician, warrior, scholar, etc).
 * Quetzalcoatl, ancient Mesoamerican ruler considered the originator of the arts, poetry and all knowledge.
 * Volund, Norse, probably based on the Greek legends of Daedalus.
 * Milo Giacomo Rambaldi, also fictional but based on Nostradamus and Leonardo da Vinci.
 * Hannibal Lecter, fictional serial killer created by Thomas Harris; chef, psychologist, musician, artist, mathematician, historian.
 * Cmdr. Spock of Star Trek: scientist, musician, warrior (when necessary), diplomat; well-informed on virtually every subject.
 * Dr. Sam Beckett of Quantum Leap is hinted at as being a polymath as he holds numerous degrees.
 * Ra's al Ghul, DC Comics supervillain and an enemy of Batman; possesses numerous skills accumulated over several lifetimes but is primarily known as a physician, scientist (in particular alchemy) and fencer
 * The Phantom of the Opera In Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name-Musician, Inventor, architect, Sculptor