James Hutton
Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician.
- James Hutton210 related topics
Uniformitarianism
Assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in our present-day scientific observations have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe.
Coined by William Whewell, it was originally proposed in contrast to catastrophism by British naturalists in the late 18th century, starting with the work of the geologist James Hutton in his many books including Theory of the Earth.
John Playfair
Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.
He is best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802), which summarised the work of James Hutton.
Scottish Enlightenment
The period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments.
Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were Joseph Black, Robert Burns, William Cullen, Adam Ferguson, David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, James Hutton, John Playfair, Thomas Reid, Adam Smith, and Dugald Stewart.
Unconformity
Buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous.
The significance of angular unconformity (see below) was shown by James Hutton, who found examples of Hutton's Unconformity at Jedburgh in 1787 and at Siccar Point in 1788.
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism.
The importance of heating in the formation of metamorphic rock was first noted by the pioneering Scottish naturalist, James Hutton, who is often described as the father of modern geology.
Geologist
Scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them.
James Hutton is often viewed as the first modern geologist.
Charles Lyell
Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history.
Building on the innovative work of James Hutton and his follower John Playfair, Lyell favoured an indefinitely long age for the earth, despite evidence suggesting an old but finite age.
Forth and Clyde Canal
Canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands.
The geologist James Hutton became very involved in the canal between 1767 and 1774; he contributed his geological knowledge, made extended site inspections, and acted both as a shareholder and as a member of the management committee.
Adam Smith
Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.
Smith's literary executors were two friends from the Scottish academic world: the physicist and chemist Joseph Black and the pioneering geologist James Hutton.
Joseph Black
Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide.
He was also close to pioneering geologist James Hutton.