ABSTRACT
In Matthew Boulton work The Abbey Scientists, Hall guarded against any idea that James Watt, Boulton's partner be appropriately commemorated in Westminster Abbey as a scientist. In what follows, the 'Cold War' historiography and sociology of science that led to exclusionary conclusions is outlined as are more recent trends in the field that potentially afford Boulton a 'friendlier' reception. The recent shifting pattern of these boundaries has created more room for Boulton the 'scientist' than Hall, Koyre and their ilk could ever grant. The North American sociologist, Robert Merton formulated the norms of science in the early 1940s, norms that he regarded as the basic ethic of true science. In the Mertonian schema, pursuing science in that way violated the norms of 'disinterestedness' and 'communalism'. Sydney Ross, published his famous article 'Scientist: The Story of a Word'. Ross's key revelation was that the term 'scientist' exist prior to the early 1830s and only entered common usage much later.
