What is William Whewell?
[[File:Whewell William signature.jpg|thumb|right|William Whewell]] '''William Whewell''' (24 May 1794 – 6 March 1866) was an English [[polymath]], [[Anglican]] [[priest]], [[philosopher]], [[theologian]], and [[historian]] of [[science]]. He influenced the great scientists of his day: [[John Herschel]], [[Charles Darwin]],<ref>Ruse M. 1975. Darwin's debt to philosophy: an examination of the influence of the philosophical ideas of John F.W. Herschel and William Whewell on the development of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. ''Studies in History and Philosophy of Science'' '''6''': 159–181.</ref> [[Charles Lyell]] and [[Michael Faraday]]. He invented many terms we use today, such as ''[[scientist]]'' (in 1837). The son of a carpenter, Whewell rose to the top. For 28 years he was a Professor, and for 25 years he was Master of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. He was one of the founding members and a president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]], and President of the Geological Society. It was the [[Prime Minister]] himself, [[Robert Peel]], who recommended his appointment as Master of Trinity. Whewell had wide interests. He researched ocean tides (for which he won the Royal Medal). He published work in [[mechanics]], [[physics]], [[geology]], [[astronomy]], and [[economics]]. He composed [[poetry]], wrote books, translated the works of [[Goethe]], and wrote [[sermon]]s and [[Theology|theological]] tracts. == History & philosophy of science == Whewell's five volumes of the ''History and Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences'' are his major work. Science was then still a novel activity. The scientists themselves held differing views as to how best to go about their work. Whewell provided a theoretical framework,<ref>Yeo R. 1993. ''Defining Science: William Whewell, natural knowledge, and public debate in early Victorian Britain''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> and the framework provoked a great deal of debate. There was also a long-running dis