Tercentenary

James Hutton Tercentenary 2026

The world is celebrating the 300th anniversary of James Hutton’s birth in 2026. Activities are taking place throughout the year across Scotland and beyond: including the Scottish Geology Festival, exhibitions, a new Deep Time Trail at Siccar Point, walks, talks, concerts, bell-ringing, new art works, symposia and commemorative whiskies.

The slide show below shows some of the highlights of the Tercentenary year. Further contributions welcome, please email images with a brief caption to promotion@edinburghgeolsoc.org, and please tell us who took the picture so that we can credit them.

Explore the Tercentenary Events calendar

Join our Tercentenary Events Mailing List

Recordings of Tercentenary Events

22 April 2026 Panel discussion:  glancing backwards into a time that far predates us Fruitmarket Gallery Edinburgh
19 May 2026 Hutton 300 | Earth Matters Panel Discussion National Gallery of Scotland Hawthornden Lecture Theatre
20 May 2026 James Hutton’s Edinburgh Short video report of excursion led by Beverly Bergman for the Edinburgh Geological Society
2 June 2026 The Legacy of James Hutton (1726–1797): The Spirit of Enlightenment Science Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society
3 June 2026 Celebrating Hutton’s lasting impact Royal Society of Edinburgh
3 June 2026 Thinking Like Hutton: Shaping the Next 300 Years Royal Society of Edinburgh
14 June 2026 Three Hundred Years of James Hutton: Pioneer of Modern Geology and Alumnus of Leiden University
27 July 2026 Lorraine Behrens chose James Hutton as her specialist subject BBC Mastermind (and you can read an interview with Lorraine about the experience in the Friends of Hutton Newsletter)
09 August 2026 James Hutton and The Restless Earth Award winning Scottish folksinger, songwriter and storyteller, Karine Polwart celebrates Hutton in music and song on BBC Radio 4.

Articles on James Hutton and Deep Time

BBC travel – Walk the Scottish coast that changed science – Stuart Kenny
The Geological Time Machine, Nalin Kulatilaka A visit to Siccar Point in the Tercentenary year helps answer the question “How could anyone know?”

The Tercentenary Campaign Group

The Tercentenary Campaign Group is coordinating the campaign to celebrate in 2026 the 300th anniversary of James Hutton’s birth.
We are bringing together interested parties, scholars and friends of James Hutton to share insights, perspectives and ideas that celebrate James Hutton and his work.
Our aims include reintroducing James Hutton to Scotland and the wider world, learning more and sharing an appreciation of his legacy.

We invite you and your organisation to become partners in this internationally important event. Your interest and expertise will be most welcome in helping us all to celebrate the legacy of James Hutton.

Mailing List