Template:Infobox scientist

Template documentationviewedithistorypurge

{{Infobox scientist}} may be used to summarize information about a person who is a scientist, medic, engineer, mathematician or (scientific) academic.

This template may also be used as a module (sub-template) of {{Infobox person}}; see Wikipedia:Infobox modules for guidance on such usage.

Usage

{{{name}}}
[[File:{{{image}}}|220px]]
{{{caption}}}
Born	{{{birth_date}}}
Spouse	{{{spouse}}} or {{{spouses}}}

Blank syntax

This infobox may be added to an article by copy-pasting the code below at the start of the article, completing it (or replacing any of the commented information) and then grouping those parameters left unused together. <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow:auto;">

Infobox scientist

</syntaxhighlight>

Parameters

These are the most commonly-used (optional) parameters. The infobox implements all parameters from {{Infobox person}}, see here for a complete list.

If no name is provided, the infobox defaults to the article's name.

Parameter	Explanation
honorific_prefix	To appear on the line above the person's name. This is for honorifics of serious significance that are attached to the name in formal address, such as knighthoods, "The Honourable", and "His/Her Excellency"; do not use it for routine things like "Dr." or "Ms."
name	Insert name of scientist, mathematician or engineer. (Defaults to article title if left blank.) Note: Do not include honorifics, icons, or other images.
honorific_suffix	To appear on the line below the person's name. This is for things like <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline style="display: none;" />|honorific_suffix=OBE – honorifics of serious significance that are attached to the name in formal address, such as national orders and non-honorary doctorates; do not use it for routine things like "BA". It is permissible but not required to use the {{post-nominals}} template inside this parameter; doing so requires {{post-nominals|size=100%|...}}.
native_name	The person's name in their own language, if different
native_name_lang	IETF language tag e.g. "fr" for French – If more than one, use {{lang}} in native_name= instead.
image	Filename of appropriate image (without "File:" prefix)
image_size	Image's width (uses users' default image size if not set)
image_upright	Scales the image thumbnail from its default size by the given factor. Values less than 1 scale the image down (0.9 = 90%) and values greater than 1 scale the image up (1.15 = 115%).
landscape	Set to yes when using wide, short images. The image height (rather than width) will be limited to 200 pixels.
alt	Image alt text, for visually impaired readers – See WP:ALT.
caption	Image caption – If known, include date the image made or creator.
birth_name	Birth name – Use only if different from name in header.
birth_date	Date of birth: {{Birth date and age}} for living people. For people who have died, use {{Birth date}}. If only a year of birth is known, or age as of a certain date, consider using {{birth year and age}} or {{birth based on age as of date}}.
birth_place	Place of birth (e.g. town/city, region, country)
death_date	Date of death: {{Death date and age}} (if birth date is known) or {{death date}} (if birth date unknown). See Template:Death date/doc for details on usage. If exact dates are unknown, consider using {{death year and age}}.
death_place	Place of death (e.g. town/city, region, country)
resting_place	Place of burial, ash-scattering, etc.
resting_place_coordinates	Coordinates for place of burial, ash-scattering etc. – Use {{coord}} template.
other_names	Former names or nicknames – Separate multiple values by using {{Plainlist}}.
siglum	Siglum or monogram, a text shortcut (often formed from the initials of the name, with variations) used to sign work, if relevant.
citizenship	Use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT
fields	Principal fields of work (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, &c) not occupation (physicist...engineer)
workplaces	Key work places, universities, companies, etc.
patrons	People who subsidized the scientist's education or research
education	Education, e.g. degree, institution, and graduation year, if relevant.
thesis_title	Title of the scientist's doctoral thesis
thesis_url	URL to the scientist's doctoral thesis
thesis_year	The year the thesis was defended and the scientist promoted
doctoral_advisor	Name of scientist's doctoral advisor, if applicable
academic_advisors	Names of any significant educational advisors (other than doctoral advisor)
doctoral_students	Names of any notable doctoral students advised by the scientist
notable_students	Names of any notable non-doctoral students advised by the scientist
known_for	Key topics/areas of study in which the scientist is notable
author_abbrev_bot	If a scientist is the author of a botanical species, insert their botanical author abbreviation here.
author_abbrev_zoo	If a scientist is the author of a zoological species, insert their zoological author abbreviation here.
awards	Notable awards/prizes received by the scientist
signature	Filename of an image of the scientist's signature (if available)
signature_type	Change Signature label to for example Seal
signature_alt	Alt text for signature
website	Official website
footnotes	For any footnotes needed to clarify entries above
spouse	The scientist's spouse or spouses (with date ranges of marriage)
children	Number of children (e.g. three or 3), or list of names if notable, in which case, separate entries using {{Plainlist}} or {{Unbulleted list}}. For privacy reasons, consider omitting the names of children of living persons, unless the children are independently notable.
parents	or father/mother, the scientist's parents if independently notable
relatives	Other notable relatives

Guidelines

Note: "Lists" in the following are usually suitable for presentation using {{ublist}} (unbulleted list, one item per line) or {{hlist}} (horizontal list, item by item with linewrap).

name

This is the name that scientist was usually known by. Do not put the full expanded name here.

image

This is the portrait or photo of the scientist. If there is a choice between good images, chose the one from a period where the scientist's work flourished. Avoid photos where the scientist was a child or very elderly, unless there is nothing else available, or the scientist is still alive and elderly.

image_size

This should normally be left at the default image size which will let users change the size to their own preference.

alt

This should describe only the visual appearance of the image, for visually-impaired readers. It should not repeat the caption. See WP:ALT.

caption

The caption should contain the full expanded name of the scientist, year or birth and death, if available, and any relevant details about the photo or portrait.

birth_name

Birth name of scientist. Use only if different from name in header. This parameter will be displayed in the "born" field, before birth date and birthplace.

birth_date

Birth date of scientist. Use the full formatting that computes the scientist's age.

birth_place

Birthplace of scientist. Put town/city followed by country.

death_date

Death date of scientist. Use the full formatting that computes the scientists age.

death_place

Death place of scientist. Put town/city followed by country. Note: this is the place where the person died, which might be different from burial place.

resting_place

Where the scientist was buried, or their ashes scattered

resting_place_coordinates

WGS84 coordinates for <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline style="display: none;" />|resting_place. Only use if known precisely (i.e. do not give generic coordinates for the cemetery). Use {{Coord}}.

pronunciation

How to say a person's name generally written in the International Phonetic Alphabet

siglum

Siglum, monogram, shortcut, if relevant.

citizenship

List countries only. Use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT.

fields

List the scientist's principal field or fields of work as described in the article, e.g. Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Molecular biology, Electronic engineering etc. Avoid using occupations, e.g., Physicist, Zoologist, Surgeon, Inventor.

workplaces

List the key work places, universities, companies, organizations etc., at which the scientist worked. Include places where the scientist was officially appointed with a payroll. Exclude minor places at which the scientist performed collaborative visits, or had adjunct appointments.

patrons

List notable benefactors who financially supported the scientist's education or research.

thesis_title

(or thesis1_title and thesis2_title)  If the scientist obtained a doctorate or doctorates, insert the thesis/theses titles, otherwise leave blank.

thesis_url

(or thesis1_url and thesis2_url)  A link or links to e.g. abstract/s of the scientist's thesis/theses at a university library, or their homepage, etc.

thesis_year

(or thesis1_year and thesis2_year)  The year/s in which the scientist's thesis/theses were published.

doctoral_advisor

(or doctoral_advisors)  If the scientist obtained a doctorate, insert their doctoral advisor or advisors, otherwise leave blank.

academic_advisors

Insert names of significant academic teachers other than the doctoral advisor: e.g. Master's advisor, postdoctoral supervisor, significant undergraduate mentor/teacher etc. In Cambridge, before 1919, there was no doctorate and so you can insert the relevant Cambridge tutor.

doctoral_students

Insert names of doctoral students supervised by the scientist. If a student does not have a wiki article, then comment the name out. It can be reinstated once such an article appears. The idea is to list only those students who are significant enough to warrant their own article.

notable_students

Insert names of any notable non-doctoral students taught or supervised by the scientist. These can be undergraduates, postdocs, masters students etc. If a student does not have a wiki article, then comment the name out.

known_for

Insert the key topics/areas for which the scientist is notable, e.g. "discovering the electron". In the case of prolific scientists, preferably list the discoveries named after the scientist, e.g. "Maxwell's equations". In the case where a scientist is so prolific that a whole wiki article listing the discoveries exists, insert a link to that page under the label (in italics) "see list" (i.e. <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>see list</syntaxhighlight>).

author_abbrev_bot

If a scientist is the author of a botanical species, insert their botanical author abbreviation here. Otherwise leave blank.

author_abbrev_zoo

If a scientist is the author of a zoological species, insert their zoological author abbreviation here. Otherwise leave blank.

spouse

(or spouses)  Name/s of / link/s to the scientist's spouse/s.

partner

(or partners)  Name/s of / link/s to the scientist's partner/s.

awards

List major awards. Put year of award in brackets after name of award. Insert a line break after each award. Avoid awards that are not significant enough to withstand their own wiki article description.

signature

Filename of an image of the scientist's handwritten signature (if available).

signature_type

Change Signature label to for example Seal.

signature_alt

Alt text for the signature. Typically this is just the text of the signature (e.g. "Is. Newton" for File:Isaac Newton signature.svg).

website

Official website only. Unofficial websites should be placed under <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>==External links==</syntaxhighlight> in the body of the article. Use {{URL}} as <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>www.example.com</syntaxhighlight>.

footnotes

For any footnotes needed to clarify entries above. This section is also often used to add extra notable items, typically, if the scientist is a relative of another person with a wiki article.

• Common errors to avoid
  • Always copy and paste the infobox template from here, not another article, in order to guarantee the full correct version.
  • If a field does not apply, leave it blank. Do not delete it. This is because is acts as a place-holder and future editors may find a field applies after all. You may put a comment in the blank field that it is not applicable if you are sure of this.

Example

Paul Dirac
Dirac, photographed in 1933
Born	(1902-08-08)8 August 1902
Spouse	Margit Wigner ​ (m. 1937)​

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow:auto;">

Paul Dirac
Dirac, photographed in 1933
Born	(1902-08-08)8 August 1902
Spouse	Margit Wigner ​ (m. 1937)​

</syntaxhighlight>

Parameters removed

• As of 26 September 2023 — influences and influenced are no longer valid parameters.
• As of 9 November 2025 — nationality is no longer valid.

TemplateData

TemplateData documentation used by VisualEditor and other tools

See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Infobox scientist in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Infobox scientist

<templatedata> { "description": "Infobox for a scientist", "format": "Template:\n\n", "params": { "name": { "label": "Name", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Name of scientist" }, "native_name": { "label": "Native name", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "The person's name in their own language, if different." }, "native_name_lang": { "label": "Native name lang", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Name of scientist in other language" }, "image": { "label": "Image", "type": "wiki-file-name", "required": false, "description": "Image of scientist" }, "image_size": { "label": "Image size", "type": "number", "required": false, "description": "Image's width" }, "alt": { "label": "Alternative text", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Image alt text, for visually impaired readers" }, "caption": { "label": "Caption", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Image caption if known" }, "birth_name": { "label": "Birth name", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Scientist's birth name" }, "birth_date": { "label": "Birth date", "type": "line", "required": false, "description": "Scientist's date of birth" }, "birth_place": { "label": "Birth place", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Place of birth" }, "death_date": { "label": "Death date", "type": "line", "required": false, "description": "Date of death" }, "death_place": { "label": "Death place", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Place of death" }, "resting_place": { "label": "Resting place", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Place of burial" }, "resting_place_coordinates": { "label": "Resting place coordinates", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Coordinates for place of burial" }, "other_names": { "label": "Other names", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Former- or nick- names" }, "siglum": { "label": "Siglum", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Siglum, monogram, shortcut" }, "citizenship": { "label": "Citizenship", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Scientist's citizenship." }, "fields": { "label": "Fields", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Principal fields of work not occupation " }, "workplaces": { "label": "Workplaces", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "workplace where scientist worked" }, "patrons": { "label": "Patrons", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Notable people who subsidized the scientist's education or research" }, "education": { "label": "Education", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "University or universities where scientist obtained their degree or degrees" }, "thesis_title": { "label": "Thesis title", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Title of the scientist's doctoral thesis." }, "thesis_url": { "label": "Thesis URL", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "URL to the scientist's doctoral thesis" }, "thesis_year": { "label": "Thesis year", "type": "line", "required": false, "description": "The year the thesis was defended and the scientist promoted." }, "doctoral_advisor": { "label": "Doctoral advisor", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Name of scientist's doctoral advisor, if applicable" }, "academic_advisors": { "label": "Academic advisors", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Names of any significant educational advisors" }, "doctoral_students": { "label": "Doctoral students", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Names of any notable doctoral students advised by the scientist" }, "notable_students": { "label": "Notable students", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Names of any notable non-doctoral students advised by the scientist" }, "known_for": { "label": "Known for", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Topics/areas of study in which the scientist notable" }, "author_abbrev_bot": { "label": "Botanical author abbreviation", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "If a scientist is the author of a botanical species, insert their botanical author abbreviation." }, "author_abbrev_zoo": { "label": "Zoological author abbreviation", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "If a scientist is the author of a zoological species, insert their zoological author abbreviation." }, "awards": { "label": "Awards", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Notable awards/prizes received by the scientist." }, "signature": { "label": "Signature", "type": "wiki-page-name", "required": false, "description": "Filename of an image of the scientist's signature" }, "signature_type": { "label": "Signature type", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Change Signature label to for example Seal." }, "signature_alt": { "label": "Signature alt", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Alt text for signature." }, "website": { "label": "Website", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Official website" }, "footnotes": { "label": "Footnotes", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "For any footnotes needed to clarify entries above." }, "spouse": { "label": "Spouse(s)", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "The scientist's spouse(s)", "aliases": [ "spouses" ] }, "children": { "label": "Children", "type": "string", "required": false, "description": "Number of children (e.g. three or 3), or list of names, in which case, separate entries using Template:Plainlist or Template:Unbulleted list. For privacy reasons, consider omitting the names of children of living persons, unless the children are independently notable." }, "partner": { "aliases": [ "partners" ], "label": "Partner(s)", "description": "The scientist’s partner(s)", "type": "string" } }, "paramOrder": [ "name", "native_name", "native_name_lang", "image", "image_size", "alt", "caption", "birth_name", "birth_date", "birth_place", "death_date", "death_place", "resting_place", "resting_place_coordinates", "other_names", "siglum", "citizenship", "fields", "workplaces", "patrons", "education", "thesis_title", "thesis_url", "thesis_year", "doctoral_advisor", "academic_advisors", "doctoral_students", "notable_students", "known_for", "author_abbrev_bot", "author_abbrev_zoo", "awards", "signature", "signature_type", "signature_alt", "website", "footnotes", "spouse", "partner", "children" ] } </templatedata>

Microformats

The HTML markup produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the person's details parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue articles across Wikipedia or via a browser tool operated by a reader, to (for example) add the subject to an address book or database. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikipedia, please see the microformat project.

Sub-templates

Date-of-birth ("bday") information will only be included in the microformat if {{birth date}}, or {{birth date and age}} are used in the infobox. (Do not use these if the date is before 1583). Be cautious about using these if the person is still living, per WP:DOB.

To include a URL, use Template:URL, specifying the url as the value of unnamed param 1; example:

{{URL|1=https://www.somedomain.com/foo/bar?q=weird_stuff&xyz=more_stuff}}.

Please do not remove instances of these sub-templates.

Classes

hCard uses HTML classes including:

• adr
• agent
• bday
• birthplace
• category
• country-name
• deathdate
• deathplace
• extended-address
• family-name
• fn (required)
• given-name
• honorific-prefix
• honorific-suffix
• label
• locality
• n
• nickname
• note
• org
• role
• url
• vcard

Please do not rename or remove these classes nor collapse nested elements which use them.

Category added by this template

• Category:Zoologists with author abbreviations

Tracking categories

• Category:Pages using infobox scientist with unknown parameters (0)
• Category:Pages using infobox scientist with conflicting parameters (0)
• Category:No local image but image on Wikidata (19) – Used by Template:Wikidata image to track articles where an infobox has no image but Wikidata has an image name. To exclude articles from this category, add an image or <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline style="display: none;" />|nocat_wdimage=yes to the infobox.

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Infobox scientist/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.