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Lyell, Sir Charles, 1797-1875 (1st Baronet | Scottish geologist)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 14 November 1797 - 22 February 1875

Biography

Charles Lyell Project - 2020

Biography

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) wrote many geological papers, mainly published by the Geological Society of London (1807-present day), but his reputation rests almost entirely on his work Principles of Geology, ( 1830-1833) inspired in part by a European tour with Sir Roderick Impey Murchison and also his knowledge of James Hutton's Theory of the Earth. In this work, first published in three volumes, Lyell propounded his theory of uniformitarianism, which holds that all geological formations can be explianed solely in terms of natural processes which can be observed in operation today. This ran counter to the prevailing theory which assumed that mountain-building and other geological phenomena could only have occurred as a result of major cataclysmic events in the past. Lyell's uniformitarianism was developed in order to reject the progressionism implicit in the prevailing theory, which he saw as leading to evolution, an idea which he strongly opposed. Ironically, Lyell's opposition to evolution brought the idea to scientists' attention and the vast time scales required by uniformitarianism enabled Darwin to conceive of his version of evolutionary theory. Lyell's other works include: The Elements of Geology, ( 1837) Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, ( 1863-1873).

Charles Lyell's father was an active naturalist, and Lyell had access to an elaborate library which included works on geology. Whilst at Oxford University he attended lectures by William Buckland, professor of geology, that triggered his enthusiasm for the subject. He became more and more interested in the subject and made many geological tours with his family in England and Scotland in 1817, and on the Continent the following year, the first of many trips abroad. In 1828 he explored the volcanic region of the Auvergne, then went to Mount Etna to gather supporting evidence for the theory of geology he would expound in his Principles of Geology . He also made numerous tours of the United States, described in Travels in North America, ( 1909) . His writings deal with the rock cycle, which explains how one type of rock is transformed into another. Lyell also expounds notions on volcanic forces, deposition, erosion and palaeontology in his writings. His work helped to establish the modern study of geology and geologic time. In addition to rock formation, he also wrote about palaeontology. It was Lyell who proposed the idea of reference fossils - fossils which are indicative of certain periods of geologic time. He divided geologic time into four periods: Pleistocene, Older Pliocene, Miocene and Eocene. His final work, The Antiquity of Man, ( 1863) , was a wide-ranging study of the human fossil record. In this work Lyell finally accepted Darwinian evolution, but still tried to insist that there was a radical discontinuity between humankind and the rest of the animal kingdom.

In 1823 Lyell was appointed secretary of the Geological Society of London, and 3 years later they made him their foreign secretary. He was twice President in 1836 and 1850. Lyell was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1826. He was awarded a Royal Medal in 1834 and the Copley Medal in 1858 and in 1866 he was awarded the Wollaston Medal. In 1832 he was the first professor of geology at King's College, London, and became President of the British Association in 1864.

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

Notebook No.34, 26 July 1830-4 August 1830

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 2: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/34
Scope and Contents This brown leather notebook contains geological observations in pencil, and detailed sketches of mountain ranges. The cover is blank, and the index is a page adhered to the back cover. The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the notebook, transcribed from digital surrogates using the platform Transkribus. When known, Lyell's abbreviations and contractions...
Dates: 26 July 1830-4 August 1830

Notebook No.51, August 1833- September 1833

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 2: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/51
Scope and Contents This brown leather notebook contains geological descriptions, identifications, daily logs, and sketches from field trips in Prussia and Bavaria. Notes are made primarily in pencil. The cover reads August 1833, and the Index is pasted to the back cover. The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the notebook, transcribed from digital surrogates using the...
Dates: August 1833- September 1833

Notebook No.55, 26 June 1834- December 1834

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 3: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/55
Scope and Contents This notebook was kept by Lyell on a trip to Sweden. It comprises notes on rise of land in Sweden - marks on rocks, etc. Notes are in ink and pencil, and include sketches, lists, observations. Page 55 includes a list of questions Lyell wishes to know the local dialect for, providing an insight into his travels and his work. There are multiple blank pages. The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own...
Dates: 26 June 1834- December 1834

Notebook No.110, 25 June 1843 - 7 July 1843

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 4: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/110
Scope and Contents This notebook contains a record of Charles Lyell's travels through France (continued from previous notebooks, Number 108, 109 and concluded in following notebook, Number 111), including Tartaret volcano and Lake Chambon, a volcanic dam lake created by its eruption, in Puy-de-Dôme. It is dated June 25 to July 7, 1843. Notes are written in pencil and ink and are primarily field notes and observations with numerous sketches. The index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 113-116 plus...
Dates: 25 June 1843 - 7 July 1843

Notebook No.255, 18 March 1869-28 April 1869

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 9: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/255
Scope and Contents This dark red Notebook is annotated with Lyell's name, address at 73 Harley Street, London. The Notebook documents work based along the coast of Norfolk, as Lyell travels with Mary [presumed as she is not mentioned], Buckley and his nephew Leonard Lyell - who is credited with observations and finds. From Norfolk, they head to Hull and Withernsea. In this Notebook, not every page is numbered. This Notebook contains sections where Buckley describes their field work, recording observations like...
Dates: 18 March 1869-28 April 1869