William Whewell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Master of Trinity College | |
| In office 1841–1866 | |
| Preceded by | Christopher Wordsworth |
| Succeeded by | William Hepworth Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 May 1794 Lancaster, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 6 March 1866 (aged 71) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Known for | Coining the words scientist and physicist Consilience |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Awards | Smith's Prize (1816) Royal Medal (1837) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Polymath, philosopher, theologian |
| Institutions | Trinity College, Cambridge |
William Whewell FRS FGS FRSE (/ˈhjuːəl/ HEW-əl; 24 May 1794 – 6 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master at Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics.
The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is his most remarkable feature. In a time of increasing specialization, Whewell belonged in an earlier era when natural philosophers investigated widely. He published work in mechanics, physics, geology, astronomy, and economics, while also composing poetry, writing a Bridgewater Treatise, translating the works of Goethe, and writing sermons and theological tracts. In mathematics, Whewell introduced what is now called the Whewell equation, defining the shape of a curve without reference to an arbitrarily chosen coordinate system. He also organized thousands of volunteers internationally to study ocean tides, in what is now considered one of the first citizen science projects. He received the Royal Medal for this work in 1837.[1]
One of Whewell's greatest gifts to science was his word-smithing. He corresponded with many in his field and helped them come up with neologisms for their discoveries. Whewell coined, among other terms, scientist,[2] physicist, linguistics, consilience, catastrophism, uniformitarianism, and astigmatism;[3] he suggested to Michael Faraday the terms electrode, ion, dielectric, anode, and cathode.[4][5]
Whewell died in Cambridge in 1866 as a result of a fall from his horse.
- ^ Cooper, Caren (20 December 2016). Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are Changing the Face of Discovery. Overlook Press. pp. 3–8. ISBN 9781468314144.
- ^ Lewis, Christopher (2007). "Chapter 5: Energy and Entropy: The Birth of Thermodynamics". Heat and Thermodynamics: A Historical Perspective. United States of America: Greenwood Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-313-33332-3.
- ^ Leffler CT, Schwartz SG, Stackhouse R, Davenport B, Spetzler K (2013). "Evolution and impact of eye and vision terms in written English". JAMA Ophthalmology. 131 (12): 1625–31. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2013.917. PMID 24337558. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014.
- ^ Faraday, Michael (1834). "On Electrical Decomposition". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010. In this article Faraday coins the words electrode, anode, cathode, anion, cation, electrolyte, and electrolyze.
- ^ Baigrie, Brian (2007). "Chapter 8: Forces and Fields". Electricity and Magnetism: A Historical Perspective. United States of America: Greenwood Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-313-33358-3.