William Hutton (26 July 1797 – 20 November 1860) was a British geologist.

Biography

Hutton was born 26 July 1797 in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, the son of a

colliery viewer A colliery viewer or coal viewer was the manager of a coal mine or colliery. The term was mostly used in the late eighteenth to nineteenth centuries, in the UK. In modern use, the viewer would be the senior and responsible mining engineer at a sit ...

, but was settled in

Newcastle-on-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , RP: ), is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the ...

by 1827. He was an agent of the Norwich Fire Insurance Company. He soon acquired a reputation as a practical geologist, an authority upon the coal measures, and an ardent collector of coal-fossils. It was said that 'The fossils of our coal-fields first found an exponent in him.' DNB

John Buddle John Buddle (15 September 1773 – 10 October 1843) was a prominent self-made mining engineer and entrepreneur in North East England. He had a major influence on the development of the Northern Coalfield in the first half of the 19th century, co ...

gave him great advantages in his researches. He was an honorary secretary of the Newcastle Natural History Society from its foundation in 1829 till he left Newcastle in 1846. He wrote a number of papers for the society's 'Transactions' between 1831 and 1838. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in June, 1840. He helped establish mechanics' institutes in the north of England. He was a fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

, and contributed papers to its Transactions in 1846, Hutton settled at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, but returned to Newcastle in 1857, and then

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

, where he died 20 Nov. 1860. His portrait, by Carrick, is in the possession of the

North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers (NEIMME), commonly known as The Mining Institute, is a British Royal Chartered learned society and membership organisation dedicated to advancing science and technology in the N ...

at Newcastle-on-Tyne. After his death Professor G. A. Lebour edited from his papers and from those of Dr. Lindley 'Illustrations of Fossil Plants,' London, 1877; this was published for the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, and contained a reproduction of Carrick's portrait of Hutton. Hutton's valuable collections of fossils, which passed to the council of the Mining Institute, is now partly in the Museum of the Natural History Society at Newcastle, and partly in the Museum of the Durham College of Physical Science in the same town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, William 1797 births 1860 deaths People from Sunderland 19th-century British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society