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Oct 19, 2023 · James Hutton. Along with Charles Lyell, James Hutton developed the concept of uniformitarianism. He believed Earth's landscapes like mountains and oceans formed over long period of time through gradual processes. Photograph by SSPL/Getty Images; mezzotint by J.R. Smith; original by R. Cosway
Mar 22, 2024 · James Hutton was a Scottish geologist, chemist, naturalist, and originator of one of the fundamental principles of geology—uniformitarianism, which explains the features of the Earth’s crust by means of natural processes over geologic time. Hutton was the son of a merchant and city officeholder.
Coined by William Whewell, it was originally proposed in contrast to catastrophism by British naturalists in the late 18th century, starting with the work of the geologist James Hutton in his many books including Theory of the Earth.
Another of Hutton’s key concepts was the Theory of Uniformitarianism. This was the belief that geological forces at work in the present day—barely noticeable to the human eye, yet immense in their impact—are the same as those that operated in the past.
Uniformitarianism is a theory based on the work of James Hutton and made popular by Charles Lyell in the 19 th century. This theory states that the forces and processes observable at earth’s surface are the same that have shaped earth’s landscape throughout natural history.
Nov 22, 2019 · The two major scientists in the advancement from catastrophism towards uniformitarianism were the 18th-century Scottish framer and geologist James Hutton and the 19th-century British lawyer-turned-geologist Charles Lyell. Read More. Biography of James Hutton, Founder of Modern Geology. By Heather Scoville.
He was one of the earliest proponents of what in the 1830s became known as uniformitarianism, the science which explains features of the Earth's crust as the outcome of continuing natural processes over the long geologic time scale.
