Hugh Miller

Geologist, stonemason, writer, editor, evangelist and hailed as one of the founders of modern Scotland, Hugh Miller was born in Cromarty on 10 October 1802.

Known for his flaming red hair, High Miller was an intellectual who became a stonemason after dropping out of school. While working in quarries on the Black Isle, he developed a lasting interest in geology and became a self-taught expert. He collected 6,000 fossils which became the core of what is today the Scottish national collection in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh.

Miller was an evangelical Christian, and played a key role in the disruption that led to the establishment of the Free Church. He was involved in aggressive debate with religious opponents in the columns of his newspaper, The Witness, which he edited for 15 years.

He was, however, intensely shy, introverted and humble, and was plagued with silicosis all his life because of his work as a stonemason.

He committed suicide on Christmas Eve 1856 at his home in Portobello.