William Whewell was one of the leading figures of nineteenth-century science. Whewell's wide range of activities and expertise make him particularly difficult to label. He wrote authoritatively on architecture, mechanics, mineralogy, moral philosophy, astronomy, political economy, and the philosophy of science. He he very often called a polymath. One of his contemporiaries poked fun at Whewell, remarking: "science is his forte, omniscience is his foible".