List of people considered father or mother of a scientific field

The following is a list of people who are considered a "father" or "mother" (or "founding father" or "founding mother") of a scientific field. Such people are generally regarded to have made the first significant contributions to and/or delineation of that field; they may also be seen as "a" rather than "the" father or mother of the field. Debate over who merits the title can be perennial. As regards science itself, the title has been bestowed on the ancient Greek philosophers Thales – who attempted to explain natural phenomena without recourse to mythology – and Democritus, the seminal atomist.