Unaccustomed Role: The Scientist as Historical Biographer-Two Nineteenth-Century Portrayals of Newton

Abstract

Some gauge of the changing social role of the scientist in early Victorian Britain is made by looking at biographies of scientists written by scientists. Two authors of Newton biographies are contrasted: Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) and Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871). Both were connected with and wrote from the viewpoint of political Whiggism. But Brewster, concerned for the public image of the scientist, stressed Newton's genius and his high moral character. De Morgan debunked Brewster's excesses, emphasized "sagacity" over "genius," and separated intellectual accomplishment from moral qualities.