Biography of James Hutton:

1726 - Born on June 3rd in Edinburgh, Scotland. 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.

1749 - James Hutton spent three years at the University of Edinburgh, then two in Paris, and finally was granted an M. D.

degree in Holland in September. 1765-1768 - Both the farm and the company producing sal ammoniac were prospering, and with a good income available, James Hutton gave up farming to establish himself in Edinburgh, where James Hutton could pursue his scientific interests.

         - His chief contribution to scientific knowledge, the uniformitarian principle, was put forward in his papers presented to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.