Hugh MillerDied 24 Dec 1856 at age 54 (born 10 Oct 1802). Scottish geologist, theologian and stonemason whose geological writings popularized the subject of geologic history. He was self-taught, with no college education, but gained his experience from much time spent in the field. Miller started taking an interest in the local Devonian rocks as a result of his work starting in his youth as a quarryman. He wrote of his studies of the Devonian fossil fish of Scotland in The Old Red Sandstone (1841). Miller’s death by suicide followed a prolonged time affected by bouts of “illness of the brain,” perhaps resulting from the stress while his final work, The Testimony of the Rocks. It was published posthumously, and in this book, he attempted to bring together both his religious beliefs and the truths revealed by his scientific investigations.« |
