John Playfair

John Playfair (March 10, 1748 – July 20, 1819) was a Scottish scientist.

Mature work

In 1802, he published his celebrated volume entitled Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. The influence exerted by James Hutton on the development of geology is thought to be largely due to its publication. In 1805 he exchanged the chair of mathematics for that of natural philosophy in succession to John Robison, whom also he succeeded as general secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He took a prominent part, on the liberal side, in the ecclesiastical controversy that arose in connexion with Sir John Leslie's appointment to the post he had vacated, and published a satirical Letter (1806).

Related Topics:
1802 - James Hutton - Geology - 1805 - John Robison - Royal Society of Edinburgh - John Leslie - Satirical - 1806

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Playfair was an opponent of Gottfried Leibniz's vis viva principle, an early version of the conservation of energy. In 1808, he launched an attack{{ref|attack}} on John Smeaton and William Hyde Wollaston's work championing the theory.

Related Topics:
Gottfried Leibniz - Vis viva - Conservation of energy - 1808 - John Smeaton - William Hyde Wollaston

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He died in Edinburgh.

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