Hall, Sir James 1761-1832
Scottish geologist

Born in Dunglass, East Lothian, he studied at the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. He initially disagreed strongly with the views of his friend James Hutton, but subsequently became a strong supporter, publishing Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory (1802, with John Playfair). In pioneering studies in experimental petrology, he melted and recrystallized local basalts and dolerites to demonstrate their igneous origin. He conducted more than 500 melting experiments and was able to demonstrate that molten magma could metamorphose existing limestones. He also produced a machine to demonstrate the folding of geological strata.