SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE BEEN AROUND, in one form or another, since mankind first ventured out of their caves. But the word scientist is a relatively recent invention, dating back to the 19th century. To 1834, to be precise.
The word was coined to describe Mary Somerville, who worked in many fields – including mathematics, physics and geology. It seemed inappropriate to call her a ‘man of science’, which was the term that had been previously used.
And so it could be argued that the very first scientist was a woman.
