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 Geikie, Archibald to Charles Lyell, 24 March 1860 - 13 July 1863
Letters are summarised by Lyell as:
1) Geikie on Elephants in Ayrshire & Falkirk 23 March 1860 and on Coast-ice in Scotland
2) Geikie Crag & talc Valley not parallel to strike of bed dated 5th April, Dunfermline
3) Geikie on foot-print beds may be /Old/ Red - Map [in folder] of land at close of Glacial period - 2000 ft depression, June 17 1860, Dumfries
4) Geikie on Scotch erratics
6) Geikie on Roman pottery in raised beach 25 feet[?] high, 6th June 1861.
Letters from Gemmellaro, Carlo to Charles Lyell , 19 May 1836
Letters from Gemmellaro, Giuseppe to Charles Lyell , 14 April 1858 - 8 March 1869
Includes colour hand drawn illustration of Etna volcano.
Letters from Gerville, Charles-Alexis-Adrien Duhérisser de to Charles Lyell, 18 August 1840 - 18 September 1842
Letters from Gesner, Abraham Pineo to Charles Lyell, 16 November 1852 - 21 April 1861
Written from Halifax, and New York. Summarised as 'Petroleum in Western States', manuscript detailing footprint of reptiles in the Coal Formations, and Gesner's response to an article on 'Recent Elevation and Depression of the land in Northern America'.
Letters from Gifford, Adolphus Frederick Danberry to Charles Lyell, 28 July 1847
Letter describes the result of the creation of a new coal shaft [including details of dimensions and foundations of shaft], and concludes with cordial wishes to the Lyells with hope to visit them in Europe.
Letters from Godwin-Austen, Robert Alfred Cloyne to Charles Lyell, 29 July 1855 - 23 June 1873
Letters from Gould, Augustus Addison to Charles Lyell, May 1842 - April 1865
Letters from Grateloup, Jean-Pierre Sylvestre de to Charles Lyell, 13 October 1830 - 04 July 1843
Small envelope with sharp blades.