Hugh Miller was born in Cromarty in 1802. His sea captain father died when he was but five years old, but had left enough money for him to be educated. His knowledge of geology was a result of a childhood spent wandering the countryside and shorelines of Easter Ross. In his early years he worked as a stonemason, work that added considerably to his geological knowledge. He became an expert in the study of fossils.
When the stone dust damaged his lungs he turned to working as a bank clerk in Edinburgh. While in Edinburgh he became friends with the world renowned geologist Roderick Murchison (he too had Black Isle connections in that he owned Tarradale House at Muir of Ord). He went on to become a prolific writer and journalist, combining his religious beliefs with a passion for geology and folklore. Miller's work was admired by contemporary scientists and writers like Darwin and Huxley, Dickens and Ruskin.
Hugh Miller's other main interest was church affairs. He was a Free Church elder and played an important part in the Disruption of the Church of Scotland that took place in 1843. He edited the evangelical newspaper 'The Witness'. But his religious views led him into conflict with the emerging theories of evolution. Pressures and conflicts in his life and work, as well as his ruined lungs, took their toll and in 1856 Hugh took his own life while suffering from depression.
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Questions
- How did Hugh Miller come to be such a renowned geologist?
- What were Hugh Miller's religious connections?
- Hugh Miller was much involved in the 'Disruption of 1843'. See if you can find information on the causes of the 'Disruption' of the Church of Scotland in 1843 using the Search facility.
- What led to his suicide in the end?