ABSTRACT
The Victorian era has been characterized as an ‘age of science’, in which both the theoretical and experimental sciences and technology progressed rapidly, but science had not then achieved the dominant position it holds in the modern industrialized world. The founder and first editor of Nature, Norman Lockyer, self-consciously used his journal as a vehicle to celebrate and promote science. In a typical declaration that appeared on the front page of an early issue, Lockyer rejoiced in ‘the good gifts which Science showers upon mankind’. The ‘general public’ could expect to find any information they required about scientific contributions to ‘practical affairs’, the advancement of science and its ‘educational and civilizing functions’, scientific discoveries, reviews of scientific works, and news on the encouragement of science in schools and colleges, together with aids for science teaching.
