(May 2, 1602 — November, 28 1680)
Scientific superstar.
17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. He made an early study of Egyptian hieroglyphs. One of the first people to observe microbes through a microscope, he was thus ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
He has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci for his inventiveness and the breadth and depth of his work.
References
wikipedia: Athanasius Kirchner