Famous 18th Century Geologists

Charles Lyell was a Scottish geologist best remembered for his work Principles of Geology, which explains the origin of the earth. He is also remembered for his pioneering explanation of climate change. A close friend of Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell is also credited with influencing many of Darwin's works pertaining to the theories of evolution.  

The pioneer of modern geology, James Hutton laid down the principle of uniformitarianism in geology. While he was initially interested in chemistry, he had later also studied law and had then moved on to medicine. His iconic Theory of the Earth explained the science behind rock formations.

British geologist William Smith, who is regarded as the Father of English Geology, is remembered for developing the science of stratigraphy. His geologic map of England and Wales was the world’s first nationwide and detailed geologic map. He was also the recipient of the first Wollaston Medal.

Gideon Mantell was a British geologist, obstetrician, and palaeontologist. Mantell's attempt to reconstruct the structure of Iguanodon started the scientific study of dinosaurs. He is also credited with discovering the first fossil teeth of Iguanodon. Subsequently, Gideon Mantell went on to discover and identify much of the skeleton of Iguanodon.

Adam Sedgwick was a British Anglican priest and geologist. He is credited with guiding and mentoring Charles Darwin during his early years. However, Sedgwick went on to oppose Darwin's theory of evolution. The world's oldest student-run geological society, The Sedgwick Club, was established in his honor in 1880.

Born to a surgeon, William Withering followed in his father’s footsteps to become a physician, though he also had immense knowledge of botany, geology, and chemistry. He not only treated edema, or dropsy, with the help of the foxglove plant but also studied scarlet fever and suggested rum as a medical substitute.

William Hopkins was an English geologist and mathematician. He is remembered for serving as a private tutor of prospective undergraduate Cambridge mathematicians, which earned him the nickname senior-wrangler maker. Hopkins also played first-class cricket and was associated with Cambridge University Cricket Club. He had an unfortunate end to his life as he spent his final years in a lunatic asylum.

German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner is known as the founder of the Neptunist school that stated that all rocks an aqueous origin. He also rejected uniformitarianism of geological evolution. He also coined the term geognosy. Not too fond of reading mail, he learned of his membership of the Académie des Sciences from a journal.

Stanisław Staszic was a Polish philosopher who played a leading role in the Polish Enlightenment. He was also a Catholic priest, geologist, writer, and translator. He supported many reforms in Poland and was the co-founder of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning. He later served as the minister of trade and industry in Congress Poland. 

Apart from being a geologist and physicist, Horace Bénédict de Saussure was also a skilled mountaineer and Alpine explorer. Initially a professor of philosophy and physics, he later became one of the earliest user of the word geology. Of his many inventions, the most prominent was his version of the hygrometer.

Initially part of the Jesuit novitiate of Saint-Omer in France, Richard Kirwan quit the order when his brother was killed in a duel. He then rose to become one of Ireland’s greatest chemists and geologists. He was known for his studies on phlogiston and for developing the Royal Irish Society.

Copley Medal-winning geologist and meteorologist Jean-André Deluc had initially studied math and natural sciences, before embarking on business tours across Europe. In course of time, he gathered a huge collection of fossils and minerals. His research areas included the mercury barometer. He was later named a fellow of the Royal Society.

German geologist and paleontologist Christian Leopold von Buch initially worked as an inspector of mines, before his geological expedition in the Alps. He studied volcanoes in Italy and the Canary Islands and rocks in Scandinavia, too. He is, however, best remembered for defining the Jurassic System.

German mineralogist and geologist Johann Gottlob Lehmann is remembered for his pioneering contribution to the science of stratigraphy. He also worked a museum director and professor in Russia and discovered what is now known as crocoite. He died when an arsenic-filled retort he was working in exploded.

German physician and geologist Georg Christian Füchsel is remembered for his pioneering contribution to stratigraphy. Apart from being the court physician of Friedrich Carl, prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, he also created the first geological map of Germany and nearby areas. He organized Friedrich’s natural science collections, too.