Mary Somerville: The Woman for Whom the Word "Scientist" Was Coined (2016)
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- #Mary Somerville
- #History of Science
- #Gender Equality
- The word 'scientist' was coined in 1834 by William Whewell to describe Victorian polymath Mary Somerville, as 'man of science' was inappropriate for a woman.
- Mary Somerville's interdisciplinary work, including her 1834 treatise 'On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences', impressed peers and became part of Cambridge University's science curriculum.
- Somerville faced gender bias, such as being denied entry to the Vatican Observatory, but she became one of the first women admitted to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835, paving the way for other women in science.