John Whitehurst

John Whitehurst (* April 10 1713 in Congleton, England; † February 18, 1788 in London) was a watchmaker, a scientific instrument maker and early geologist.

Born as the son of the clockmaker John Whitehurst the Elder, he took over his father's craft and was its precise instruments that were based on his own fine mechanical improvements, quickly known. Among other things, he worked with the clockmaker Benjamin Franklin innovations. After his move to Derby at 1736 Whitehurst extended its range of instruments at various measuring instruments for the then burgeoning systematic scientific investigations. Improved thermometer for determining the temperature of the liquid metal and the expansion of metals when heated, brought him into contact with the circle of scientists, philosophers and entrepreneurs around Erasmus Darwin and Matthew Boulton, the Lunar Society, where he quickly became a key member.

For Matthew Boulton Whitehurst constructed a series of astronomical clocks, which indicated the so-called philosophical clocks, the sun and stars and objects were manufactured in a small series in the Soho Manufactory. You have to admire some still do in the museums of the world; a single piece of this series, which had been offered Catherine the Great (she had but rejected because the clock did not play melodies) is now kept in Boulton's Villa on his former plant site.

White Hurst's work on precision instruments and measurements led in 1774 to his appointment as guardian of the duplicates of the Royal Mint; on May 13, 1779 Whitehurst was elected to the Royal Society ..

Outside of his profession to Whitehurst were especially interested in geology. To this end, he wandered about for 15 years by the landscapes of his surroundings, charted corpus of rocks and rock layers and used existing mines systematically to explore the curves layer of the subsoil. His work was initially input into the planning for the construction of channels that should connect the industrial centers of the surrounding area from about 1758. In this context, Whitehurst worked particularly with Darwin, Boulton and Josiah Wedgwood on a project at Birmingham, had taken the lead for the Wedgwood. At the same time Whitehurst was working on a book that should the then controversial question of whether the earth was invariably created by God or created dynamically from the fire and continue to make changes was subjected to decide. The book, which for the first time in 1778 appeared, called "An Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth " and contained a number of very precise geographic studies Derbyshire, which were added in subsequent editions (1786 and 1792) expanded and refined and as a turning point for systematic geology apply. Content Whitehurst tried to establish a compromise between plutonism, Neptunism and creationism, but was rejected by all sides.

On February 18, 1788 Whitehurst died at his home in London's Fleet Street. He was buried at St. Andrew's burying ground.