Science and the Public 343the gentlemen of science were convinced that true knowledge would lead
to the recognition of a divine, static and hierarchical order behind nature,
the science of their enemies was naturalistic and emphasized an egalitarian
natural and social world characterized by progress and development.^15
THE RISE OF SCIENTIFIC NATURALISM AND THE PROFESSIONAL IDEAL
By the 1840s, the circulation of knowledge was no longer limited predom-
inantly to the wealthy and to the aristocracy. Science could be “exhibited,
learnt, practised, witnessed and consumed by a much larger cross- section
of society and in a multitude of new metropolitan settings.”^16 As new
social groups came into contact with science, they instilled it with new
meanings. From 1832 to 1845, the Adelaide Gallery provided a venue for
mechanics and London instrument makers to present spectacular shows
of light and sparks, and to appear before the public as men of science.^17
The establishment of institutions such as the non- Anglican University
College, London, in 1826, the Museum of Economic Geology in 1839, and
the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 offered the sons of middle- class
dissenters the opportunity to learn practical skills and gain expertise in
scientifi c and medical subjects. For some, these new institutions of science
provided opportunities to earn a living by teaching science or engaging
in scientifi c work of various sorts. Those who could not fi nd jobs in these
institutions eked out a precarious existence on the meager wages garnered
from freelance lecturing or journalism. But it was more and more possible
for those without genteel upbringing or connections to forge careers in
science from metropolitan sites that were part of the bourgeois landscapes
of new science colleges and medical schools, exhibition halls and engi-
neering workshops.^18
When Huxley returned from a four- year voyage as assistant surgeon
on the HMS Rattlesnake in October 1850, this was the volatile situation
that confronted him. Born to a humble lower- middle- class Anglican fam-
ily and trained during the hungry forties at a medical academy in London
where high- profi le Nonconformists lectured, Huxley was deeply affected
by the poverty he saw in the East End slums. It was a grim reminder
of how the Anglican- aristocratic establishment had failed to provide for
many members of English society. The second- class status of his own
teachers, engaged in a dirty war with elite surgeons, opened his eyes to
how Anglican privilege operated in the world of science. Without an edu-
cation at Anglican Oxford or Cambridge, his prospects for obtaining a
paying job in science were slim. Sending papers on marine biology back