Met dank aan Jan de Coo voor het aanleveren van een stuk over James Hutton, grondlegger van de geologie. Hij had veel interesse in de geschiedenis en ‘leeftijd’ van de aarde, ondanks zijn medisch-chemische achtergrond. Die interesse ontstond tijdens zijn verblijf op de boerderij in Norfolk, die hij van z’n vader erfde. In die tijd (1752) was geologie nog verre van een academische studie.
“These were important years for Hutton in another way, for it was during these years that his interest in geology began. We should stress that at this time geology would not have been considered as a science in its own right and Hutton would consider himself as a natural philosopher. Many mathematicians were interested in natural philosophy, and geology in particular. It was around this time that Hutton began to read books on the topic; reading the works Discourse on earthquakes (1705) by Hooke, New theory of the Earth (1696) by Whiston, Protogaea (1749) by Leibniz and Histoire naturelle by Buffon, as well as Steno’s treatise Dissertation concerning a solid body enclosed by the process of nature within a solid.”
Geboren: 3 juni 1726 in Edinburgh, Schotland
Overleden: 26 maart 1797 in Edinburgh, Schotland
Lees het hele document: James Hutton – grondlegger geologie.
