In 1650, the theologian and scholar Bishop James Ussher announced that the world was created on 23rd October 4004 BC. Nevertheless, looking at the irregular strata in the layers of the earth, Hutton deduced that the world must be much, much older than Ussher´s prediction. His revelation was blasphemy - but it was also one of the most extraordinary defining moments in history, forming the framework for Darwin´s theory of evolution, and shaping our modern view of the world and our place in it.