James Hutton
Early Life
James Hutton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 3, 1726. His father, William Hutton, was a merchant and city office holder. His mother, Sarah Balfour, died when he was three years old. Hutton attended the High School where he developed an interest in chemistry and mathematics.
Education
Hutton attended the University of Edinburgh where he studied classics, mathematics, and physics. He then moved to Paris to study medicine but returned to Edinburgh without completing his degree. Despite this, he continued to study and conduct experiments in chemistry and geology.
Career
In 1750, Hutton moved to a farm in Slighhouses where he began his observations of the Earth's processes. He noticed the effects of erosion and sedimentation and started to formulate his theories about the Earth's history. He proposed that the Earth was much older than what was commonly believed at the time.
In 1785, Hutton presented his ideas to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He argued that the Earth was perpetually being formed; for example, rock was eroded by wind and rain, and the sediment was transported and deposited in the sea. Over time, the layers of sediment would harden into rock. This process, which he called the "rock cycle", suggested that the Earth was much older than the 6,000 years proposed by biblical scholars.
Hutton's ideas were controversial and not widely accepted during his lifetime. However, they laid the foundation for the science of geology and greatly influenced future scientists such as Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin.
Theory of the Earth
Hutton's most significant work, "Theory of the Earth", was published in two volumes in 1795. In this work, he proposed that the Earth was shaped by natural processes over a long period of time. This idea, known as "uniformitarianism", contrasted with the prevailing view of "catastrophism" which held that the Earth was shaped by sudden, catastrophic events.
Death and Legacy
Hutton died in Edinburgh on March 26, 1797. His ideas were largely forgotten until they were revived by Charles Lyell in the 19th century. Today, Hutton is recognized as a pioneer of modern geology and his theory of uniformitarianism is a fundamental principle in the science.