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HUTTON, JAMES (b. Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 June
1726; d. Edinburgh, 26 March 1797), geology, agriculture,
physical sciences, philosophy.
nothing on the subject until late in his career.
A visitor to his apartment in 1772 recorded that “his
study is so full of fossils and chemical apparatus that
there is hardly room to sit down.”
Hutton was by temperament both sociable and
hospitable and he entered fully into the intellectual
and social life of the city. Joseph Black became his
most intimate friend. Others of about his own age
with whom he associated closely were Adam Smith,
James Lind (1736-1812), Adam Ferguson, James
Burnett (Lord Monboddo), John Hope, and John
Walker. Through Black he became a friend of James
Watt, in whose work he took much interest. About
1781 he first met Playfair,3 and later he befriended
Sir James Hall, who attained distinction as a geologist
and chemist.
In 1774 Hutton made another tour into England
and Wales. He visited Birmingham and with Watt
examined the salt mines in Cheshire. In an unpublished
letter to George Clerk he reported that he had
been studying both geology and agricultural practice
during this tour; and he implied that he was now
familiar with the geology of England, with the exception
of Cornwall. He later obtained a report on the
geology of Cornwall from Watt's son, Gregory. During
Hutton's tour the elder Watt probably introduced
him to some members of the Birmingham discussion
group later known as the Lunar Society, for he afterward
corresponded with Erasmus Darwin and Matthew
Boulton.
In 1777 Hutton published in Edinburgh a small
pamphlet entitled Considerations on the Nature,
Quality, and Distinctions of Coal and Culm. Its purpose,
commercial rather than geological, was to establish
the claim that the low-grade stony coal (culm)
then exported from Edinburgh for lime burning
should qualify for a lower rate of duty. This pamphlet,
and Hutton's association with the Forth and
Clyde canal, suggest that the practical value of his
geological knowledge was already recognized.
When the Royal Society of Edinburgh was founded
in 1783, Hutton became one of its most active supporters,
believing that the establishment of the Society
was important for the progress of science. His
active interest in geology continued and from 1785
to 1788 he visited several parts of Scotland, the Isle
of Man, and England to extend his knowledge. In
1788 Hutton was elected foreign member of the
French Royal Society of Agriculture. It is possibly
significant that the president of the society at that
time was Nicholas Desmarest.
After 1788, so far as is known, Hutton made no
more field excursions; and from 1791 he was subject
to recurrent illness.4 He spent these years preparing
his lesser known works on chemistry, physics, and
philosophy for publication. In 1795 he published the
definitive two-volume edition of his Theory of the
Earth. His friends had previously urged him to publish
this work, and he was finally prompted to do so
to counter Richard Kirwan's strong criticism of the
theory.5 Finally, Hutton began the preparation of
another work, the “Principles of Agriculture,” but his
death prevented its publication.
The variety of subjects that Hutton studied intensively,
and his general way of life, indicate that he
was a man interested in knowledge for its own sake,
without thought of personal advancement, and his
works show an overriding intent to fit all the subjects
he discussed into the framework of his deistic
philosophy.
The illness that led to Hutton's death was stated
by Black to have been caused by stones in the bladder.
The first attack in 1791 was cured by a severe
operation, but a recurrence set in during 1794. Thereafter
he was confined to his house, although he remained
cheerful, mentally alert, and able to read and
write between bouts of severe pain.
Hutton never married; he was survived by one
unmarried sister, Isabella, and a natural son, James,
probably born about 1747, when Hutton was still a
student. His son, employed for many years in the
General Post Office in London, married and raised
a family. Hutton kept in contact with him, providing
money when he was in need. After Hutton died,
Isabella Hutton presented his geological specimens
to Black, who, in turn, gave them to the Royal Society
of Edinburgh, on conditions which should have ensured
that they would be properly cataloged and
preserved. A few years later they were transferred to
the university museum, then curated by Robert
Jameson. They were exhibited for a time, but ultimately
disappeared and no trace of them has since
been found.
Geology.
Hutton's most important contribution to
science was his theory of the earth, first announced
in 1785. Hutton had then been actively interested in
geology for fully thirty years. It is known that he had
completed the theory in outline some years earlier,
and according to Black, writing in 1787,6 Hutton had
formed its principal parts more than twenty years
before. In essence the theory was simple, yet it was
of such fundamental importance that Hutton has
been called the founder of modern geology. Much
has been written about the scientific and intellectual
background in eighteenth-century Europe at the time
Hutton formed his theory, but its novelty can only
be appreciated when related to the existing state of
geological knowledge.