[troutman]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

Vulgaria selects Galilei Galileo as our scientist.

"Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy,"[6] the "father of modern physics,"[7] the "father of science,"[7] and "the Father of Modern Science."[8] Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."[9]"

"...and Albert Einstein called him the father of modern science"

Galileo's Dream
Kim Stanley Robinson


http://www.sfsite.com/03a/ga315.htm

We might need a new category for this one. Science fiction writers have used historical characters before, everyone from Jesus Christ to Richard Nixon has had their life, or part of it, used as the basis for a science fiction or fantasy story. But using a standard science fiction plot device like time travel as a means to enhance and expand upon what is at its core a serious biographical look at the life of one of the most important figures in the history of science is a bit out of the ordinary. The world of literature has long been home to historical fictions and biographical novels, time to make room for biographical science fiction.

In the end, that's what makes Galileo's Dreams not just a biography, but a science fiction biography. And in a career that's included visions of alternate Californias and a terra-formed Mars, Galileo's Dreams is Kim Stanley Robinson's crowning achievement.