author
William Whewell
1794–1866
A brilliant 19th-century thinker who moved easily between science, philosophy, theology, and university life, he is often remembered for helping shape how people talk about science itself. He spent most of his career at Cambridge and became one of the best-known intellectual figures of Victorian Britain.
6 Audiobooks
History of the inductive sciences, from the earliest to the present time
by William Whewell
Astronomy and General Physics Considered with Reference to Natural Theology
by William Whewell
Novum organon renovatum Being the second part of the philosophy of the inductive sciences
by William Whewell
History of scientific ideas
by William Whewell
The Plurality of Worlds
by William Whewell
On the Philosophy of Discovery, Chapters Historical and Critical
by William Whewell
About the author
Born in Lancaster in 1794, he rose from modest beginnings—the son of a carpenter—to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. He stayed there for most of his life as a fellow, tutor, and eventually Master of Trinity, building a reputation for unusual range as well as energy.
He worked across mathematics, mechanics, mineralogy, astronomy, tides, moral philosophy, and the history and philosophy of science. Whewell is especially associated with big questions about how scientific knowledge is formed, and he is often noted for introducing or popularizing important scientific terms, including scientist.
Alongside his scholarly writing, he was also an Anglican priest and an influential figure in university reform and intellectual life in Britain. That mix of wide curiosity, administrative leadership, and philosophical ambition makes him one of the classic Victorian polymaths.