A public for science. The rapid growth of popularization in nineteenth century France

Summary: The word 'popularization' first appeared in France in the nineteenth century, together with a host of new journals, magazines, books and series which attempted to 'place science within everyone's reach'. By considering the main features of this massive entry of science into the media world, this article attempts to show how a public was created for it. The idea of the necessity of scientific popularization is questioned through an historical perspective, by showing that it was derived from a combination of local circumstances and initiatives undertaken in the nineteenth century.