Lyell, Sir Charles, 1797-1875 (1st Baronet | Scottish geologist)
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 1033 Collections and/or Records:
Letters from Childs, George W., to Charles Lyell, 6 May 1864 - 7 October 1868
Sales of 'Antiquity of Man' in Philadelphia, USA, and closing and settling of Lyell's account after Childs left the publishers.
Letters from Claparède, René-Édouard, to Charles Lyell, 6 October 1859
Letters from Clark, Joseph, to Charles Lyell, 25 April 1846
Letter from Joseph Clarke containing observations on North American terrapins. Clark also writes to Mary, see folder 147.
Letters from Clark, Joseph to Lady Mary Lyell, 7 April 1863
Letter to Lady Mary Lyell from J. Clark expressing his surprise and pain at a libelous attack made upon Sir Charles Lyell at the Athenaeum, 7 April 1863. Clark also write to Charles, see folder 148.
Letters from Cogswell, Joseph E., to Charles Lyell, 19th century
Discussion of the laws in US concerning wills and the possibility of leaving equal shares to all children (male and female), not just to the eldest son.
Letters from Colebrooke, Henry Thomas to Charles Lyell, 10 August 1827
Letter, with envelope, from H Colebrooke regarding species of crocodile that are found in the Ganges, its tributary and contiguous waters, includes article from the Edinburgh Advertiser on the subject of alligators.
Letters from Conrad, T. A, to Charles Lyell, February 1840 - 12 August 1853
Letters from Conybeare, William, to Charles Lyell, 29 May 1851
Letter written in Funchal. Discussion on the geographical nature of Italy, with particular reference to the volcanic regions of Naples and Sicily.
Letters from Cooke, Robert, to Charles Lyell, 12 November 1870 - 30 June 1873
Sales of various Lyell texts - sales numbers not very encouraging. Stock in ready for sale of Lyell's texts, account of stock in hand in relation to Lyell publications.
Letters from Costa, Achille, to Charles Lyell, 20 November 1857
List of Ischia shells collected at Isola d'Ischia.