Hall, James (1811–98) American geologist, palaeontologist, and member of the US Geological Survey. A uniformitarian, he made detailed observations of the stratigraphy of the Appalachians. He proposed that the sediments were laid down in a trough, which subsided under their weight, before final uplift and erosion. He opposed catastrophist and contractionist hypotheses of mountain formation. See CATASTROPHISM; and CONTRACTING EARTH HYPOTHESIS.

HALL, James

HALL, James. British, b. 1918. Genres: Art/Art history, History, Travel/Exploration. Publications: Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, 1974; (ed.) Ehresmann's Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms, 1980; A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art, 1983; Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Western and Eastern Art, 1994; (trans. & field research) Domenico Laffi's Viaggio in Ponente a San Giacomo…1681 (travel), 1996. Address: 19 Milton Rd, Harpenden, Herts. AL5 5LA, England. Online address: JamesHall@harpenden.swinternet.co.uk

Hall, James (1761–1832) Scottish geologist and physicist who was the pioneer of experimental petrology. He was able to demonstrate (1800) that a basalt melt will crystallize if cooled slowly, thus giving important support to plutonist theory.