Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham was born on the 6^th of December 1900 in London, England, the United Kindgom. He was a scientist, historian and sinologist, known to his scientific research and written works on the history of Chinese science and technology. In 1941, he was elected a follow of the Royal Society and later in 1971 a fellow of the British Academy. In 1992, the Queen conferred on him the Companionship of Honour. He died on the 24^th of March 1995 in Cambridge, England.

Although he was known as a biochemist, his career made unexpected turns during and after the Second World War. Three Chinese scientists, Lu Guizhen, Wang Yinglai and Shen Shichang came to Cambridge University to for graduate studies, the former of whom taught him Chinese.

Under the orders and direction of the Royal Society, Needham became the director of the Sino-British Science Co-Operation Office in Chongqing from 1942 to 1946, during which he made many long and small journeys through war-torn China. He purchased many historical and scientific books on his journeys, which he shipped back to Britain through diplomatic channels and formed the foundations of his later research. He even met Zhou Enlai of the Communist Part of China, as well as numerous scholars, such as the painter, Wu Zuoren, and the meteorologist, Zhu Kezhen.

He became the first head of the Natural Sciences Section of UNESCO in Paris, France. However, after two years, American suspicions over scientific co-operation with communists intensified, Needham resigned in 1948 and returned to Gonville, Caius College. He taught biochemistry until 1966, but he devoted all of his energy time to Chinese History until 1990, when he retired.

His publications include Chinese Science, the series of books entitled Science and Technology in China.