
Independent scientists
An independent scientist (historically also known as gentleman scientist) is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and development body. The expression "gentleman scientist" arose in post-Renaissance Europe, but became less common in the 20th century as government and private funding increased.
4 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Benjamin Franklin
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of the scientist, writer, printer, diplomat and American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
1 March 2012
Featuring: Simon Middleton, Simon Newman, Patricia Fara
CultureMasonic grand mastersFellows of the Royal SocietyHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesIndependent scholarsAmerican male non-fiction writersTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of literatureAmerican deistsAge of EnlightenmentSocial philosophersPhilosophy writersPhilosophers of technologyAmerican political philosophersActivists for African-American civil rightsWriters about religion and sciencePolitical activists from PennsylvaniaAphoristsRecipients of the Copley MedalRhetoric theoristsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences18th-century pseudonymous writersAmerican people of English descentAmerican philosophers of cultureHumor researchersAmerican male journalistsRecreational cryptographers, Writers from Boston, Writers from PhiladelphiaHall of Fame for Great Americans inducteesAmerican philosophers of religion18th-century American politicians, American Freemasons, Signers of the United States ConstitutionPhilosophers from MassachusettsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPeople associated with electricityCreators of writing systemsWriters about activism and social changePhilosophers of scienceAmerican slave ownersPhilosophers of historyAmerican autobiographers18th-century American writers, Founding Fathers of the United States, People of the American EnlightenmentSimple living advocatesIndependent scientistsAmerican philosophers of educationDarwin: On the Origins of Charles Darwin
Melvyn Bragg presents a series about the life and work of Charles Darwin. Darwin's early life and time at Cambridge, where his interests shifted from religion to natural science.
5 January 2009
Featuring: Jim Moore, Steve Jones, David Norman, Colin Higgins
ScienceEnglish travel writersTheoretical biologistsFellows of the Royal SocietyMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesEnglish AnglicansUtilitariansEnglish abolitionists19th-century British biologists, 19th-century English naturalists, British evolutionary biologists, Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society, Fellows of the Zoological Society of LondonBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish sceptics19th-century AnglicansRecipients of the Copley MedalAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeEnglish agnosticsCharles DarwinAlumni of the University of Edinburgh19th-century English writersCircumnavigators of the globeRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Members of the American Philosophical SocietyDeaths from coronary thrombosisMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Lincean AcademyIndependent scientistsHuman evolutionRoyal Medal winnersHumboldt
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Prussian naturalist and explorer, Alexander Von Humboldt. A hero in South America; Charles Darwin described him as ‘the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived’.
28 September 2006
Featuring: Jason Wilson, Patricia Fara, Jim Secord
ScienceUniversity of Jena alumniHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences18th-century German LGBTQ peopleGerman LutheransGerman travel writersForeign members of the Royal SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesUniversity of Göttingen alumniHuman geographersGay scientistsMembers of the French Academy of SciencesRecipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)Members of the Prussian Academy of SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyMembers of the Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesMembers of the Bavarian Academy of SciencesIndependent scientistsRobert Boyle
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and work of Robert Boyle, a pioneering scientist and one of the first Fellows of the Royal Society.
12 June 2014
Featuring: Simon Schaffer, Michael Hunter, Anna Marie Roos
ScienceFluid dynamicistsIrish Anglicans17th-century English writers17th-century Anglo-Irish peoplePeople educated at Eton CollegePhilosophers of scienceWriters about religion and science17th-century English philosophers17th-century English male writersDiscoverers of chemical elementsIndependent scientistsEnglish physicistsEnglish alchemists