On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences, by Mary Somerville, is one of the best-selling science books of the 19th century. The book went through many editions and was translated into several European languages. It is considered one of the first popular science books, containing few diagrams and very little mathematics. It describes astronomy, physics, chemistry, geography, meteorology and electromagnetism as they were scientifically understood at the time. In an anonymous review of the book in the March 1834 issue of The Quarterly Review, later attributed to William Whewell, the term "scientist" appeared in print as a proposed collective name for investigators of the material world.

Review and the term "scientist"

In the review, the reviewer wrote:

Ross identified the "ingenious gentleman" as Whewell himself.

See also

Letters to a German Princess

References

External links