The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of the Earths Antiquity
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There are three men whose life's work helped free scien...)
There are three men whose life's work helped free science from the strait-jacket of religion. Two of the threeNicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwinare widely heralded for their breakthroughs. The third, James Hutton, is comparatively unknown, yet he profoundly changed our understanding of the earth, its age, and its dynamic forces.
A Scottish gentleman farmer, Hutton's observations on his small tract of land led him to a theory that directly contradicted biblical claims that the Earth was only 6,000 years old. This expertly crafted narrative tells the story not only of Hutton, but also of Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment, including many of the greatest thinkers of the age, such as David Hume and Adam Smith.
Theory of the Earth With Proofs and Illustrations, Volume 1 (of 4)
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
James Hutton: The Founder of Modern Geology. Donald B. McIntyre and Alan McKirdy
(This excellent introduction to James Hutton was first pub...)
This excellent introduction to James Hutton was first published by National Museums Scotland in 2001. Scientists currently think that the Earth is four and a half billion years old but until the eighteenth century the Christian world firmly believe in its creation about 4000 BC. James Hutton (1726-97) was the man whose pioneering fieldwork proved that this was not so. A leading figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, he not only established that the Earth is immensley old, but in the process also saw the possibility of both evolution and natural selection - fifteen years before Charles Darwin was born. This new edition has: a new format; 10 replacement pictures; an additional chapter; a foreword by the James Hutton Institute; and an appreciation by Alan McKirdy of his co-author Donald McIntyre who died in 2009.
(Though the publication of Hutton's Theory of the Earth (1...)
Though the publication of Hutton's Theory of the Earth (1795) is usually regarded as the beginning of modern geology, it and other works by Hutton have rarely been studied in the original. Dean provides an accurate account of Hutton's major geological writings, in the light of his training and exper
James Hutton was a Scottish geologist, physician, chemical manufacturer, naturalist, and experimental agriculturalist.
Background
Hutton was born in Edinburgh on 3 June 1726 as one of five children of William Hutton, a merchant who was Edinburgh City Treasurer, and his wife, Sarah Balfour.
His father died in 1729, when James was only three.
Having inherited property from his father, he settled down to agriculture in Berwickshire in 1754, introducing new farming practices successfully.
Education
Educated at the high school and university of his native city, he acquired while a student a passionate love of scientific inquiry.
He was apprenticed to a lawyer, but his employer advised that a moie congenial profession should be chosen for him.
He studied for three years at Edinburgh, and completed his medical education in Paris, returning by the Low Countries, and taking his degree of doctor of medicine at Leiden in 1749.
Career
In 1750 he returned to Scotland but found little opportunity in medicine.
During his stay abroad, Hutton had become interested in the study of the earth's surface and he continued his researches.
The Huttonian theory of the igneous origin of the earth's crust is based upon subterranean heat.
During these years he began to study the surface of the earth, gradually shaping in his mind the problem to which he afterwards devoted his energies.
In the summer of 1754 he established himself on his own farm in Berwickshire, where he resided for fourteen years, and where he introduced the most improved forms of husbandry.
In 1768 he moved to Edinburgh, where, unmarried, he lived with his sisters the rest of his life.
This took place about the year 1768.
But Hutton had conceived larger ideas than were entertained by the mineralogists of his day.
For many years he continued to study the subject.
He had long studied the changes of the atmosphere.
The same volume in which his Theory of the Earth appeared contained also a Theory of Rain, which was read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784.
He investigated the available data regarding rainfall and climate in different regions of the globe, and came to the conclusion that the rainfall is everywhere regulated by the humidity of theair on the one hand, and the causes which promote mixtures of different aerial currents in the higher atmosphere on the other.
The vigour and versatility of his genius may be understood from the variety of works which, during his thirty years' residence in Edinburgh, he gave to the world.
Hutton originated the doctrine of uniformitarianism--that the formation of the surface of the earth is due to forces that are still occurring.
This is the viewpoint held by modern geologists; and he and Sir Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) are considered the founders of modern geology.
John Playfair's Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802) clarified Hutton's views.
In 1792 he published a quarto volume entitled Dissertations on different Subjects in Natural Philosophy, in which he discussed the nature of matter, fluidity, cohesion, light, heat and electricity.
Some of these subjects were further illustrated by him in papers read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
His closing years were devoted to the extension and republication of his Theory of the Earth, of which two volumes appeared in 1795.
A third volume, necessary to complete the work, was left by him in manuscript, and is referred to by his biographer John Playfair.
A portion of the MS. of this volume, which had been given to the Geological Society of London by Leonard Horner, was published by the Society in 1899, under the editorship of Sir A. Geikie.
The rest of the manuscript appears to be lost.
Soon afterwards Hutton set to work to collect and systematize his numerous writings on husbandry, which he proposed to publish under the title of Elements of Agriculture.
It is by his Theory of the Earth that Hutton will be remembered with reverence while geology continues to be cultivated.
To its influence much of the sound progress of British geology must be ascribed.
In the year 1805 a biographical account of Hutton, written by Playfair, was published in vol.
Hutton's other writings include Nature of Coal (1777), Theory of Rain (1784), Dissertations on Different Subjects in Natural History (1792), Investigation of the Principles of Knowledge (1794), and A Dissertation on the Philosophy of Heat, Light and Fire (1794).
From 1791 Hutton suffered extreme pain from stones in the bladder and gave up field work to concentrate on finishing his books.
A dangerous (and painful) operation failed to resolve his illness.
He died in Edinburgh and was buried in the vault of Andrew Balfour, opposite the vault of his friend Joseph Black, in the now sealed south-west section of Greyfriars Kirkyard commonly known as the Covenanter's Prison.
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There are three men whose life's work helped free scien...)
Views
He originated the theory of uniformitarianism—a fundamental principle of geology—which explains the features of the Earth's crust by means of natural processes over geologic time.
Quotations:
In a 1753 letter he wrote that he had "become very fond of studying the surface of the earth, and was looking with anxious curiosity into every pit or ditch or bed of a river that fell in his way".
Membership
He was a member of the Royal Society of Agriculture of France