James Hutton (1726–1797)
Author of Theory of the Earth
About the Author
Hutton is acknowledged as the father of the science of geology. Born and educated in Scotland, his published works laid the groundwork for others who profoundly influenced the development of geologic thought. Hutton is credited with originating perhaps the most important tenet of show more geology---uniformitarianism---the concept that the earth's present features and processes explain its past. Summarized succinctly by the phrase "the present is the key to the past," Hutton's work soon becomes familiar to every beginning geology student. As a student, Hutton studied medicine but decided against a career as a physician; he chose instead to pursue scientific research. He was encouraged by friends to farm a plot of land his father had bequeathed to him with the same care and scientific knowledge that he would give a surgical procedure or a chemical experiment. In so doing, he observed that there was a relationship between the rock and mineral particles in the soil and the parent bedrock below. He noted, too, that certain crops had an affinity for certain soils and that rainwater washed soil from the fields, forming gullies. Hutton was fond of walking and studying rocks around his native Edinburgh. He later studied and made similar observations in other parts of the British Isles and on the Continent as well. He kept detailed notes and published them in a two-volume work shortly before his death. His Theory of the Earth (1795) contained all of his theories and observations, and the evidence on which they were based. Hutton died in 1797 before his third volume was published. Much of Hutton's work, however, was popularized and made more readable by John Playfair (1748--1819) in a book published in 1802 entitled Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: James Hutton, by Sir Henry Raeburn. Wikimedia Commons.
Works by James Hutton
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1726-06-03
- Date of death
- 1797-03-26
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Leiden
University of Edinburgh - Occupations
- geologist
physician
farmer
chemical manufacturer
naturalist
experimental agriculturist - Organizations
- Royal Society of Agriculture of France
- Awards and honors
- Royal Society of Edinburgh (Fellow, 1783)
- Relationships
- Maclaurin, Colin (teacher)
Playfair, John (friend)
Hume, David (friend)
Smith, Adam (friend)
Black, Joseph (friend)
Hall, James (friend) - Nationality
- Scotland
- Birthplace
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Places of residence
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Berwickshire, Scotland, UK
London, England, UK - Place of death
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Map Location
- UK
Members
Reviews
This book reprints the speech that James Hutton delivered to The Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1785.
Contradicting centuries of Church theology, he introduces his theory that the Earth is actually ancient:
"The purpofe of this Differtation is to form some effimate with regard to the time the globe of this Earth has existed..."
Contradicting centuries of Church theology, he introduces his theory that the Earth is actually ancient:
"The purpofe of this Differtation is to form some effimate with regard to the time the globe of this Earth has existed..."
Statistics
- Works
- 14
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 30
- Popularity
- #449,941
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 16
