<P> Democritus was born in Abdera , Thrace , around 460 BC , although there are disagreements about the exact year . His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from those of his mentor Leucippus , as they are often mentioned together in texts . Their speculation on atoms , taken from Leucippus , bears a passing and partial resemblance to the 19th - century understanding of atomic structure that has led some to regard Democritus as more of a scientist than other Greek philosophers ; however , their ideas rested on very different bases . Largely ignored in ancient Athens , Democritus is said to have been disliked so much by Plato that the latter wished all of his books burned . He was nevertheless well known to his fellow northern - born philosopher Aristotle . Many consider Democritus to be the `` father of modern science '' . None of his writings have survived ; only fragments are known from his vast body of work . </P>
who were the greek philosophers who contributed the basic information about atoms
Democritus his mentor Leucippus