Pair team up to discuss the great scientists
SIR David Attenborough and Professor Brian Cox will unite on screen for the first time in a new show delving into the stories of history’s most significant scientists.
The acclaimed naturalist and the physicist will discuss the legacy of Charles Darwin, from his “absolutely mad obsession with collecting beetles” to extracts from his legendary 1859 scientific tome On The Origin Of Species.
Sir David explains his admiration for the famed explorer’s book that shares “argument and observation” rather than “jargon”.
As the six-part BBC iPlayer series People Of Science continues, Cox will meet Royal Society Fellows Bill Bryson, Dame Spiegelhalter, Higgins as they Uta explore and Frith, Dame Dame the Sir Sally David organisation’s Julia Davies viewers archives to their and favourite introduce historical figures in the field.
Cox, who is professor for public engagement in science at the Royal Society, said: “People Of Science opens up a treasure riches from the and trove past. tales of of archival scientists “It’s been a fascinating experience to work with Fellows of the Royal Society to tell these stories. “For me, and I hope for the audience, these films deliver a rare insight into the people behind some of the world’s greatest scientific discoveries. Some are household names, some less well known, but all have changed our lives.”
Dame Uta takes on the legacy of Lee, an early mathematician who stormed into a conference of male anatomists in Dublin and took their head measurements to dispel the belief that men’s larger skulls made them more intelligent than women.
Meanwhile, Bryson explores the legacy of Benjamin Franklin, Dame Julia revisits Michael Faraday’s work with electricity, and chief medical officer Dame Sally investigates the impact of Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey’s discovery of penicillin.