1802 in Science - Geology

Geology

• James Smithson proves that zinc carbonates are true carbonate minerals and not zinc oxides, as was previously thought.
• John Playfair publishes Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth in Edinburgh, popularising James Hutton's theory of geology.
• James Sowerby begins to issue his British Mineralogy, or, coloured figures intended to elucidate the mineralogy of Great Britain in London, the first comprehensive illustrated reference work on the subject.