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James Hutton

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Scientist

The Resume

    (June 3, 1726-March 26, 1797)
    Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
    Farmer/chemist/naturalist
    Wrote 'Theory of the Earth' (1788)
    Outlined a cyclic theory for the formation of land: land was eroded by air and water and deposited as layers in the sea; heat then consolidated the sediment into stone, and uplifted it into new lands
    Opened up the concept of 'deep time' that the earth must be far older than the six thousand years of the Bible
    Known as 'the father of modern geology'

Why he might be annoying:

    He fathered a child out of wedlock.
    A visitor described his rooms as 'so full of fossils and chemical apparatus that there is hardly room to sit down.'
    His writing has often been called 'unreadable,' which hindered acceptance of his ideas.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He put his geological knowledge to practical use as a shareholder and director of the Forth and Clyde Canal.
    Despite his usually clunky prose, he coined of the most memorable phrases in geology: 'We find no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end.'
    His ideas, after they were popularized by Charles Lyell, were a major influence on Charles Darwin.
    One biographer said that he was one of three men -- along with Copernicus and Darwin -- who 'helped to free science from the strait-jacket of theology.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 76.92% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 40.0% Annoying