Did Atheists find cures for polio, cancer, suggest evolution, and write about gravity?
Possibly. Polio is viral, so it’s prevention (not cure) is rooted in the practice of inoculation (or antibody serum). This practice began in China or India hundreds of years ago. I don’t know what those guys believe. Cancer hasn’t been cured but thanks to scientific research treatment has been improved. This wasn’t done through divine intercession. Evolution was suggested by Darwin. As far as I know he was agnostic. He most definitely did not recant on his deathbed. That little story is a myth. I know that if someone said they were atheist 300 years ago they might be murdered by christians, so perhaps Newton (or others) claimed to be religious for fear of losing his life or livelihood at the hands of the christian church. You can’t deny the fact that because the church was such a powerful political machine that people really weren’t given the option of declaring their atheism. Part of that oppression has directly resulted in militant atheism.