Catalogue description HUTTON, William (1797-1860)

Papers of William Hutton, [1827-1831], comprising:

Two Ink drawings of Coal Measure plants, by William Hutton, from the Northumberland and Durham coal-field, [1827]; draft of paper 'On the Stratiform Basalt associated with the Carboniferous formation of the North of England' by William Hutton, accompanied by 12 ink sketches of sections, [1831].

Ref: LDGSL/54

William Hutton was born in on 26 July 1797 in Sunderland. He had little formal education, but by 1818 Hutton had joined the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne and in 1825 the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. By this time he had already become honorary curator of the George Allan Museum, which had been purchased by the Literary and Philosophical Society in 1822, and had began to amass his own collection of minerals and fossil plants.

He became a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1828, and the next year helped found the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne, of which he also acted as secretary and curator. From 1830 until 1835 he was also co-secretary of the Newcastle Literary, Scientific and Mechanical Institution and from 1835 served as one of its vice-presidents.

Hutton's major contribution was his work on palaeobotany, publishing 'The Fossil Flora', between 1831 and 1837 which was co-authored by John Lindley (1799-1865). His other significant contribution was his work on the nature of coal. The fossil plant Huttonia was named after him in 1837 by Sternberg in recognition of his achievements and in 1840 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society.

By 1845, Hutton had also taken on the post of treasurer for the Natural History Society, the extra work possibly contributing to the breakdown in his health which occurred the following year. For the next few years he lived in Malta, returning to Britain in 1851. He later moved to West Hartlepool, becoming involved with the local Literary and Mechanics Institution and the plan to establish a museum at the Athenaeum. He died on 20 November 1860.