If I told you that the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe was first proposed by a Roman Catholic priest, how many shots of vodka would you assume had passed my lips? But truth is stranger than fiction (just look at Paris Hilton if you want proof), and Father Georges Lemaitre was the man who set the wheels in motion for one of science's greatest discoveries.

How he explained that one to God when he died in 1966 is anyone's guess.

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Footnote: This doesn't relate to the Big Bang, but I found the following piece of the article telling:

In fact, Lemaitre derived what became known as Hubble's Law in his 1927 paper, two years before Hubble. However, since Lemaitre spent his entire productive life in Europe rather than emigrating to America, American publicity machines have preferred to stress the contributions of scientists such as Hubble or Einstein who can be claimed to have a US connection.

Proud European Nick Gisburne signing off!