Final answer:
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer and created the Fahrenheit temperature scale, characterizing 32°F as the freezing point of water and 212°F as the boiling point.
Step-by-step explanation:
The German scientist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit is credited with inventing the mercury thermometer. In 1724, based on a suggestion by Ismael Boulliau, Fahrenheit began using mercury in the thermometer's tube, a departure from the earlier design that used alcohol. He also developed the Fahrenheit temperature scale, which sets the freezing point of water at 32°F and the boiling point at 212°F.