Albert the Great c. 1200 – 1280

Albertus Magnus, known in English as Albert the Great, was a 13th-century German Dominican friar, theologian, philosopher, and natural scientist, regarded as one of the greatest medieval polymaths and the principal teacher of Thomas Aquinas. He produced an immense body of writing across philosophy, theology, biology, mineralogy, astronomy, alchemy, and the natural sciences, much of it taking the form of paraphrase and commentary on Aristotle. He played a decisive role in the medieval reception of Aristotle, defending the legitimate place of natural philosophy and Aristotelian science in Christian thought against the Augustinian opposition. He served briefly as bishop of Regensburg before returning to teaching and writing. He was canonised in 1931 and is the patron saint of natural scientists.