The new Briton will replace Scottish inventorJames Wattand , just like the discoverer of the rotary locomotive engine , must be real ( no fictional theatrical role ) , and deceased . Their work will not only have contribute to the field of science but will have “ shaped thought , innovation , leading or values in the UK ” and “ inspire masses , not fraction them , ” allot to thewebsite . Other than that , the playing field is open to those who worked in any scientific domain , “ from the A in anatomy to the Z in fauna . ”
The final determination is made by the Banknote Character Advisory Committee and is based on the person ’s strengths and not by how many nominations they get . The plank says it will consider masses who have been chosen in the past times ( study : a lot of old livid dudes ) and ask nominations to boast a diversity of people and fields .
William Shakespeare was the first to come along on the £ 20 preeminence in1970 . Since then , a sort of famous Brits have been feature , admit scientific leaders such as Sir Isaac Newton , 17th - century astronomerSir Christopher Wren , the discoverer of electromagnetic inductionMichael Faraday , and inventorGeorge Stephenson .
The Guardianreports a handful of competitor already in the running and the leaning include a rad bunch of forrard - imagine females worthy of the laurels , from the world ’s first computer programmerAda Lovelaceand Britain ’s only Nobel science laureate Dorothy Hodgkin to X - ray crystallographer and desoxyribonucleic acid modeler Rosalind Franklin and dinosaur enthusiast Mary Anning .
A few male contenders include WW2 figurer scientist Alan Turing , the one and only cosmologist Stephen Hawking , Frederick Sanger ( who identified amino window pane that make up the insulin molecule ) and Sir Peter Medawar ( who let on how our immune system rejects foreign tissue ) .
Until December 14 , you could name your pet persononlineor write to : Think Science , Bank of England , Threadneedle Street , London EC2R 8AH . The individual will be announced in 2019 .
