Hugh Miller (1802-1856) was a self-taught Scottish geologist and paleontologist. As a young man he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and his work in quarries, together with walks along the local shoreline, led him to the study of geology. Among his geologi
Hugh Miller (1802-1856) was a self-taught Scottish geologist and paleontologist. As a young man he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and his work in quarries, together with walks along the local shoreline, led him to the study of geology. Among his geological works are The Old Red Sandstone (1841), Footprints of the Creator (1850), The Testimony of the Rocks (1856), Sketchbook of Popular Geology. He believed that the Earth was of great age, and that it had been inhabited by many species which had come into being and gone extinct, and that these species were homologous. Although he believed the succession of species showed progress over time, he did not believe that later species were descended from earlier ones. He suffered severe headaches and medicine did not help. He feared that he might harm his wife or children because of persecutory delusions. He committed suicide, shooting himself in the head on the night he had finished checking printers' proofs for his book on Scottish fossil plants and vertebrates, The Testimony of the Rocks. His death was tragic, and though he had no academic credentials, he is today considered one of Scotland's premier paleontologists.
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