It's my impression that many scholars whom we now might regard as astronomers, mathematicians, or physicists — such as Galileo, Descartes, or Newton — thought of their own work as being in the tradition of philosophy, and were thought of as philosophers by their contemporaries.

For instance: Galileo expounded his astronomy (or Copernicus's) in a work with the style of Socratic dialogues. Descartes' Geometry was an appendix to his philosophical Discourse on Method. The social role of "scientist" didn't exist until much later.