scientist

Also known as natural philosopher

A scientist is an expert who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in science.

AI overview

A scientist is someone who conducts research to advance our understanding of the natural world and how things work. This matters because scientists discover new knowledge and develop solutions to problems that improve our lives and help us understand ourselves and our environment better.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Occupation.competencies: Scientific research
Occupation.name: Scientist
Occupation.image: Pierre and Marie Curie.jpg
Occupation.caption: Pierre Curie and Marie Curie demonstrating an apparatus that detects radioactivity. They received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their scientific research; Marie also received the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Occupation.official_names: Scientist
Occupation.type: Profession
Occupation.activity_sector: Laboratory, research university, field research
Occupation.formation: Science
Occupation.employment_field: Academia, industry, government, nonprofit
Occupation.related_occupation: Engineers, Mathematicians, Medical researcher

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image: Researchers in laboratory.jpg

Show 5 more facts

male form of label: scientifique
Commons category: Scientists
equivalent class: dbpedia.org/ontology/Scientist
female form of label: عالمة
NCI Thesaurus ID: C28249

Sources (4)

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~22 min read

Article

27 sections

Contents

History
Classical antiquity
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Age of Enlightenment
19th century
20th century
Profession
Education
Career
Research interests
By specialization
Natural science
Physical science
Life science
Social science
Formal science
Applied
Interdisciplinary
By employer
Demography
By country
United States
By gender
See also
References
External articles

A scientist is an expert who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in science.

In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophical study of nature called natural philosophy. Though Thales ( 624–545 BC) was arguably the first scientist for describing how cosmic events may be seen as natural, not necessarily caused by gods, it was not until the 19th century that the term scientist came into regular use: it was coined by the theologian, philosopher, and historian of science William Whewell in 1833 to describe Mary Somerville.