A brief survey of the lives and works of some of the naturalists who contributed to the development of natural science in Philadelphia - 1783-1820

Abstract In the 17th century, the frontier of the European mind was gradually being extended. Science was beginning to find an atmosphere in which it could start a steady development. It required the rise if individualism and the over-throwing of the acceptance of authority from the Church; it profited by increased knowledge of the ancient Greeks which was uncovered during the Renaissance. By the 18th century individual observation, which meant the development of science, and the scientific method, really got under way.