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The word 'scientist' gets its modern meaning in the Victorian age, but not all 19th-century scientists are modern. John Elliotson (1791-1868) is a professor of medicine at University College Hospital, London, and a pioneer in the use of the stethoscope. In 1837, he begins demonstrating mesmerism on his wards. Named after the Austrian doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, this cranky idea sees the universe as filled with 'magnetic fluid' that can be connected to human 'animal magnetism' by means of hypnotism. Elliotson claims he can cure epilepsy, and one of his colleagues uses hypnosis as an anaesthetic when amputating a patient's leg. Although Elliotson is eventually sacked, his career demonstrates the uneasy balance between modern science and medieval ideas about unseen worlds. Spiritualism The widespread belief in spiritualism is a case in point. In the United States in 1848, a pair of sisters, Margaret and Catherine Fox, attract large audiences for their séances, when they communicate with the spirit of a former resident of their house. The Fox sisters gain such notoriety that the showman P T Barnum takes them on. (In later life, Margaret Fox confesses that she and her sister were frauds, but then retracts her words and continues as a medium until her death in 1893.) Spiritualist churches and 'home circles' begin appearing in Britain in 1865, and several spiritualist organisations are founded: the Marylebone Spiritualist Association in 1872, the British National Association of Spiritualists in 1884 and the National Federation of Spiritualist Churches in 1890. Despite the fact that many mediums are proven to be fakes, spiritualism attracts such people as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and the physicist Oliver Lodge (1851-1940). Doyle not only believes in spiritualism, but also in fairies. Phrenology Equally cranky are ideas about phrenology. The pseudo-scientific belief that bumps on the human skull correspond to organs and so can be used to diagnose illnesses or characteristics such as potential criminal behaviour gains credence during the century. In the 1830s and 1840s, George Combe (1788-1858) uses phrenology to argue for the reform of education and society. His Constitution of Man becomes a bestseller, with 350,000 copies sold between 1828 and 1900. Religious evangelicals find the book irreligious and campaign against it, sometimes even burning it. Evolution However, the Victorian age also witnesses fundamental transformations in what people believe about nature and the place of humans in the universe. Gradually, there's a growth in the belief in natural laws that can be rationally discovered through experiment. Victorian science is dominated by naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-82). Although he is a hypochondriac who lives a quiet life, his ideas about the evolution of life – first published in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) – are nothing short of revolutionary. The clergy, with their enormous power, are shocked and the scientific establishment sceptical. Still, however shy, Darwin is able to attract supporters by the calm logic of his writings. In the summer of 1860, at a meeting of the British Association in Oxford, a bishop and a scientist cross swords over evolutionary theory. When Bishop 'Soapy Sam' Wilberforce (1805-73) asks scientist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95) whether he claims descent from a monkey through his grandfather or his grandmother, Huxley instantly replies that, given the choice between a bishop and an ape for an ancestor, 'I unhesitatingly affirm my preference for the ape.' Darwin's theory of evolution encourages powerful Victorian beliefs, such as the notion that progress is inevitable. A spin-off of these ideas is better and more consistent science education, to help the international spread of science. But Social Darwinism leads to racism and xenophobia. Philosophy New ideas about science mingle with philosophical theories. Victorian philosophers believe in positivism, an optimistic creed hostile to metaphysics and respectful of science, ever eager to extend scientific methods to study society. For example, philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), whose masterpiece is the sprawling nine-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy (1862-93), advocates the importance of science. One of Spencer's most influential phrases is 'survival of the fittest', which later forms the basis of Social Darwinism. Equally important is John Stuart Mill (1806-73), the greatest of Victorian liberal thinkers, who popularises the principles of philosophical empiricism and utilitarianism. He becomes sympathetic to socialism and is a strong advocate of women's rights and political and social reforms such as proportional representation, trade unions and farm co-operatives. Psychology Among the most influential Victorians to propose the study of the mind as a basic framework for scientific effort is Alexander Bain (1818-1903). His book The Senses and the Intellect, published in 1885, marks the advent of modern psychology. This new method of studying human cognitive functioning introduces the idea of associationism, which means the correlation of sensations and experience (collectively known as 'consciousness') and the physical actions that result from it. No less influential is the publication in 1885 of The Principles of Psychology by Herbert Spencer. His work proves to be seminal, inspiring ideas such as J H Jackson's concept of the nervous system and its evolutionary nature, and J M Baldwin's circular model of adaptation. Astronomy Astronomy in Victorian Britain tends to be practised by wealthy amateurs who found learned societies, commission new telescopes and build observatories. But the universities are catching up. John Pringle Nichol (1804-59), a professor of astronomy at Glasgow, publishes Views of the Architecture of the Heavens in 1837, and seven years later, Robert Chambers (1802-71) brings out Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Both use the 'nebular hypothesis' as the backdrop for a theory of cosmic evolution. For Chambers, all of nature is the unfolding of deep natural laws that prescribe the evolution of the heavens, the creation of the earth and the evolution of life. All this progresses from swirling clouds of dust that first form solar systems and then finally organic life. This makes redundant the idea of a God that creates the earth in seven days. As a result, Chambers' theories are attacked by the Church. George Biddell Airy (1801-92) is astronomer royal at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich from 1835 to 1881. He transforms it, installing advanced astronomical equipment and expanding staff. The latter have to clock-in and clock-out – just as in a factory. Further reforms help Airy to reduce human error in observations and increase efficiency. Physics Although Darwin's ideas dominate the 1860s, another equally important scientist is at work – this time in Edinburgh. Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831-79) makes crucial advances in understanding electromagnetism. His 1873 Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism identifies light as an electromagnetic wave (rather than a movement in the 'ether'), and makes possible a theoretical explanation of electromagnetic energy in space. Other scientists then distil this into the set of rules now called 'Maxwell's equations'. Maxwell also uses filters to show how we perceive colours and provides mathematical proof of the stability of Saturn's rings. He then works in Cambridge, where he sets up the Cavendish Laboratory. Although nicknamed 'Dafty', Maxwell is anything but silly – his ideas about electromagnetism are destined to influence Albert Einstein and thus modern physics. In 1845, the chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) discovers that an intense magnetic field can rotate the plane of polarised light, a phenomenon that can been used to investigate molecular structure. His chemical work is chronicled in Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics (1858). His series of six lectures for children, published in 1860 as The Chemical History of a Candle, becomes a classic of science literature. Sir William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) becomes professor of natural philosophy at the University of Glasgow in 1846 at the age of 22. Holding that post until 1899, he creates Britain's first dedicated physics laboratory. Here he conducts pioneering research into electric measurement and the investigation of the electro-dynamic and thermoelectric properties of matter. Between 1851 and 1854, he formulates the two great laws of thermodynamics: the laws of equivalence and of transformation. In 1897, physicist Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940), on his return from giving a series of lectures at Princeton University, studies cathode rays, a series of experiments that culminates in his discovery of the electron. This controversial finding is announced during an evening lecture at the Royal Institution in London on 30 April 1897. For this achievement, Thomson receives the Nobel prize for physics in 1906 and is knighted two years later. Mathematics A friend of John Stuart Mill and James Clerk Maxwell, Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is Victorian Britain's most astonishingly innovative thinker and the founder of information technology. Among his many original contributions is his idea for 'calculating engines', machines to perform mathematical calculations. Even more ambitious are his 'analytical engines', which are flexible punch-card-controlled general calculators, the ancestors of modern computers. Babbage also produces the table of logarithms of natural numbers from 1 to 108,000 that becomes a standard reference work. He also pioneers the mathematical method of code breaking. Another noted mathematician, Cambridge-educated William Kingdon Clifford (1845-78), is a pioneer of the study of non-Euclidean geometry and one of the few Victorian academics prepared to avow his atheism openly. He is widely admired for his high ethical standards as well as for his lively temperament and brilliant intellect, but dies prematurely of a combination of overwork and tuberculosis at the age of 33. Anatomy It's not easy being a scientist in Victorian Britain. Richard Owen (1804-92) is the finest anatomist of the time, but even though he discusses Darwin's theory of evolution in private, in public he has to support the literal truth of the Bible. In reward, he gets good jobs and honours. In 1836, he is appointed Hunterian professor of the Royal College of Surgeons and is elected to the Royal Society. By the mid-1840s Owen is a favourite of conservative patrons. The royal family present him with a cottage in Richmond Park and Robert Peel puts him on the Civil List. In 1858, Owen becomes president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and head of the natural history departments of the British Museum, overseeing the transfer of these collections to the new Natural History Museum in South Kensington in 1881. He is knighted in 1884. Darwin reminisces in his autobiography that Owen became his enemy after the publication of the Origin of Species, 'not owing to any quarrel between us, but as far as I could judge out of jealousy at its success'. Medicine Victorian medicine is practised by a variety of doctors, from quacks to skilled professionals. Physicians have high status. They are considered gentleman because their work excludes manual labour. Doctors are permitted to dine with the family during home visits. Their fees range from a token to a handsome sum wrapped in paper and discretely collected after the consultation. Most doctors maintain a room in their residence for the treatment and care of patients. This is called 'the surgery' even when the practitioner is not a surgeon, and is open to patients without appointment during specific hours. Surgeons represented the next step down from doctors in the social hierarchy. They set bones, stitch wounds and pull teeth. After would-be surgeons serve apprenticeships, they act as their surgeon's assistant. Such pupils are infamous for their rowdiness. Surgeons are also often qualified as apothecaries. Some surgeons make vital medical breakthroughs by using empirical evidence of epidemics. Surgeon John Snow (1813-58) – voted the 'greatest doctor of all time' in a 2003 poll in Hospital Doctor magazine – and William Budd (1811-80), a specialist in infectious diseases, explained the incidence of cholera by arguing that it had to be caused by an invisible living organism that multiplied in the intestine. This opposed the establishment view that disease was the result of 'miasma' (bad air). (See also Hospitals and doctors.) In August 1861, Joseph Lister (1827-1912) is appointed surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and begins introducing antiseptic practices into surgery – boiling and scrubbing instruments before and after operations – thus dramatically increasing survival rates. By 1890, enough scientific research exists to convince most people of the existence of germs, and the 'miasma' theory becomes obsolete. Soon microscopes become powerful enough to identify the bacteria responsible for most contagious diseases. The practice of surgery is also helped by the invention of anaesthetics in the late 1840s. Although ether is initially used, chloroform soon becomes the anaesthetic of choice – Queen Victoria is one of the first to be given it during childbirth. Medical practitioners also use opium in the form of laudanum and morphine for pain relief. Strides are also being made in pharmacology. Among the drugs discovered between 1800 and 1840 are quinine, atropine, digitalin, codeine and iodine. But to use new pharmaceuticals you first have to identify diseases accurately. The Victorians make notable progress in the identification, classification and description of diseases. Scarlet fever is distinguished from diphtheria, syphilis from gonorrhoea, typhoid from typhus. The English clinicians Richard Bright, Thomas Addison, Thomas Hodgkin and James Parkinson provide classic descriptions for the diseases named after them. Lexicography One of the most important achievements of the Victorian era is the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language. In the past, other attempts at creating dictionaries, such as Dr Johnson's in the mid-18th century, have been incomplete and the meanings of words highly subjective. The campaign to produce a reliable dictionary is launched on 5 November 1857. It is decided not to produce a prescriptive dictionary that says what words should mean, but rather a descriptive dictionary that records how words are actually used. Because English already comprises a huge number of words, and is constantly being enriched by new ones, often from foreign languages, this is a massive undertaking. The OED is typically Victorian in its mix of national pride and individual self-confidence. Although the work starts in 1860, under its founding editor Herbert Coleridge (1830-61), it takes 70 years to complete. Its most inspiring editor is James Murray (1837-1915), a Scottish schoolmaster who has 11 children (all of whom have to help in compiling the work). He uses volunteers from all over the country to help find quotations and rare words. One of these is William Chester Minor, an American schizophrenic who is been confined to Broadmoor Asylum after being convicted of murder. He communicates with Murray from his cell, where he uses his private library to work on the new English dictionary. At the end of the first five years of toil, Murray only gets as far as the word 'ant'. Amazingly, he writes almost half the first edition himself (7,207 pages of a total of 15,487). He dies before the completion of the first edition in 1928, having worked on it for more than 35 years. That's Victorian stamina for you. Academics The new scientific spirit is also to be found in British universities. Cambridge, in particular, favours science, and its reputation in this area is enhanced by the opening of the Cavendish Laboratory in 1873. But until 1871, both Oxford and Cambridge require fellows to be celibates in holy orders. By contrast, London University has no religious entrance requirements and is known as 'the godless institution of Gower Street'. Still, the scientific spirit also begins to influence the humanities. Historians include Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59), who writes A History of England that stresses progress and liberty, and Lord Acton (1834-1902) whose phrase 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' outlives him. Benjamin Jowett (1817-93), a professor of Greek at Oxford, is inspired by German philosophy to spread the idea of scientific education. The same spirit leads to the professionalisation of the civil service, following the Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854. However, the universities remain middle-class institutions, excluding the labouring classes, as Thomas Hardy's novel Jude the Obscure (1895) shows. Secularism By the 1870s, Charles Bradlaugh (1833-91), leader of the National Secular Society (formed in 1866), mounts an open challenge to the dominance of religion. In A Plea for Atheism, he writes, 'The so-called belief in Creation is nothing more than the prostration of the intellect on the threshold of the unknown.' Bradlaugh is a radical who advocates republicanism as well as atheism. He is at the centre of debates in favour of compulsory education, land reform, the separation of Church and state, and birth control education. He and his lover and collaborator, Annie Besant (1847-1933) receive six-month prison sentences for publishing – in a book advocating birth control – an 'obscene libel'. (The sentence is overturned on appeal.) As for Besant herself, she moves from atheism into political radicalism, mixing with George Bernard Shaw and W T Stead, and then into mysticism. She becomes influenced by Madame Blavatsky (1831-91), whose Theosophy argues that all religion was one, and that there is no contradiction between religion and science – a typical Victorian compromise. |
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