Thomas Young

Thomas Young (1773-1829) was a British polymath who made contributions across vision, light, mechanics, physiology, and Egyptology. His experiments demonstrating the interference of light established the wave theory of light, and he developed Young's modulus, a measure of the elasticity of materials. He also advanced the understanding of color vision in what became known as the Young-Helmholtz theory, and he played an important role in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs through his study of the Rosetta Stone.