Who said “Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.”?

Verified

Thomas H. Huxley. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceOn the advisableness of improving natural knowledge (1866)

Find On the advisableness of improving natural knowledge on Amazon · paid link

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

Source checked · Something wrong? Report a correction

Authors A–Z
“Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.”
— Thomas H. Huxley
VerifiedOn the advisableness of improving natural knowledge (1866) · evidenceKnowledge

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: On the advisableness of improving natural knowledge (1866).

APA

Huxley, T. H. (n.d.). Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/19097-every-great-advance-in-natural-knowledge-has-involved/

MLA

Huxley, Thomas H. “Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/19097-every-great-advance-in-natural-knowledge-has-involved/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Huxley, Thomas H. “Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/19097-every-great-advance-in-natural-knowledge-has-involved/.

Related quotes

More quotes by Thomas H. Huxley

“Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.”
Verified"The Coming of Age of The Origin of Species" (1880); Collected Essays, vol. 2 · evidenceDetails & citeTruth
“The great tragedy of Science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.”
VerifiedPresidential Address at the British Association, "Biogenesis and abiogenesis" (1870); later published in Collected Essays, Vol. 8, p. 229 · evidenceDetails & citeScience and Scientists
All 33 Thomas H. Huxley quotes →