Short answers, pulled from the story.
Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the father of history. He personally traveled across the Mediterranean to interview locals and observe cultures while distinguishing between reliable accounts and wild rumors.
The Annales school was founded by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre in 1929. This school changed historical research by stressing long-term social history and the use of quantification.
Edward Gibbon published The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1776. It became a model for later historians due to its relative objectivity and heavy use of primary sources.
Sima Qian introduced the annals-biography format which combined chronological court records with detailed biographies of prominent figures and commoners alike. This structure became mandatory reading for the Imperial Examinations.
The Annales school emphasized the use of quantification and special attention to geography, climate, and demography as long-term factors. They preferred to stress slow change and the longue durée over conscious actors.