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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 6 Collections and/or Records:

Notebook No.96, January 1842- January 1842

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 4: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/96
Scope and Contents This notebook contains Charles Lyell's notes from his travels through South Carolina and Georgia, including a trip down Savannah river. Notes are in pencil and ink and are primarily daily journal entries. The index is located at the back of the notebook. 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: January 1842- January 1842

Notebook No.97, January 1842- January 1842

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 4: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/97
Scope and Contents This notebook contains Charles Lyell's notes from his travels through Savannah, Georgia and the Santee canal (a trip with Dr. Ravenel). Notes are in pencil and ink and are primarily daily journal entries, with sketches. The index is located at the back of the notebook. 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...
Dates: January 1842- January 1842

Notebook No.116, May 1844-11 June 1844

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 5: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/116
Scope and Contents The notebook contains Charles Lyell’s notes from May to June 11th 1844 while in London. It then continues through June 13th to July 27th in Scotland. Much of the content is about an upcoming trip to the United States - and also covers research on Canada. Notes are in penci and ink. The notebook index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 112-115. Pages 67-72 is an Essay on the 'Constitution of the United States'. Lyell's own index...
Dates: May 1844-11 June 1844

Notebook No.129, 3 January 1846 - 10 January 1846

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 5: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/129
Scope and Contents Notebook No. 129 was kept by Lyell during his trip to America in 1845-6, mostly written in pencil, after his lecture tour, with visits to Hopeton Plantation, St. Simon's Island, and Georgia. It contains his observations while he visited several plantations worked by enslaved people extracted from undocumented regions of Africa, and bought at auction. Mr. and Mrs. Lyell stayed with James Hamilton Couper at Hopeton plantation for two weeks in January 1846. Couper was a member of the British...
Dates: 3 January 1846 - 10 January 1846

Notebook No.130, 10 January 1846-20 January 1846

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 5: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/130
Scope and Contents This red notebook contains a record of Charles Lyell’s visit to the United States of America (started in Notebook 121) recording his time spent around Georgia (Hopeton-on-the-Altamaha, Macon, Milledgeville, Savannah, Parramore Hill, Scottsboro, Gordon, and Upatoi creek) with detailed visits to Macon and the surrounding areas. It covers many diverse discussions covering topics of the everyday lives of slaves, slavery, abolition, religion, war, floral and faunal specimens, and geological...
Dates: 10 January 1846-20 January 1846

Notebook No.131, 20 January 1846-28 January 1846

 Item — Box Lyell-temp-box 5: Series Coll-203/A1
Identifier: Coll-203/A1/131
Scope and Contents This notebook contains Charles Lyell’s notes from January 17 1846 to January 28 1846 while in the United States as part of the Lyells second trip. It contains notes from travels through Milledgeville (Georgia), Macon (Georgia), Columbus (Georgia), Chehaw (Georgia), and Montgomery (Alabama). The Lyells then board the steamer Amaranth from Montgomery, traveling to Mobile (Alabama). The index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 113-120. Notes are in pencil and ink and include field...
Dates: 20 January 1846-28 January 1846