The man of science flourished in the nineteenth century, roughly between the ages of the natural philosopher and the modern scientist. That science rather than philosophy becomes the key designator signals profound shifts in the production of knowledge, usually examined from the standpoint of professionalization and discipline formation; however, the expression man of science suggests the crucial importance of other frameworks such as personal identity, character formation, and gender construction in defining scientific work, and determining its status and location in nineteenth-century societies. The term invites a comparative approach, for it is unique to English language cultures and has no real counterpart in other European countries where scientific vocations are increasingly bound to, and derived from, state and institutional structures.