James Hutton

1726 - 1797

Father of modern Geology, born in Edinburgh. His theory of Uniformitarianism was the basis of the explanation of the geological history of the earth which had, in his words, "no vestige of a beginning, no concept of an end". He discussed his ideas with other scholars of the Scottish Enlightenment such as the mathematician John Playfair (1748 - 1819) and chemist Joseph Black (1728 - 1799). Hutton published his "Theory of the Earth" in 1785.

He is buried in Greyfriars Churchyard in Edinburgh.

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