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.
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The correspondence between H.D. Roger and Charles Lyell is mainly concerned with American Geology and the projects of their colleagues. Letters are written at Philadelphia; some are written to Mary Lyell. Lyell or his team, have summarised the letters, either on the envelope, or on the letter itself - usually in the space allocated to the address. Where there is a summary, it has been transcribed here.
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This black and red marbled paper covered notebook contains Lyell's notes from Copenhagen to Paris, focusing on scholarship of shells from notable colleagues. The index is located in the last pages of the notebook, p. 119-121, and the address index is written in the inside cover. The front cover plate reads "No. 68, E, Charles Lyell, Aug[ust]-Sept[ember] 1837, Copenhagen to Paris, Index p. 119". The following table of contents is Lyell's...
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This tan leather notebook contains Charles Lyell's notes from his North American tour of New York, including New York City, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester. Notes are predominantly pencil, some ink, a mixture of field notes and travel notes. The index is located at the back of the notebook, both covers are unmarked. The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the...
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This notebook contains notes by Charles Lyell field and travel notes while in North America and Canada, mentions of Niagara Falls, and the Shores of Lake Ontario and Michigan. Notes are predominantly pencil, some ink, and 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...
Scope and Contents
This notebook contains notes by Charles Lyell from his travels in Albany, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Notes are mostly pencil, occasional ink. Covers are both blank, indexes are located in 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 platform Transkribus. When...
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This notebook contains Charles Lyell's notes from his travels through Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina. 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 platform...
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This notebook contains Charles Lyell’s notes from his travels through Scotland (started in previous notebook, Number 113) and return to London. On the 14th December he is with Darwin. It is dated October 7, 1843 to January 1844. Notes are in pencil and ink.The notebook index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 113-116. Page 48 lists the ‘state of the M.S. Notebooks and seems to refer to a review – perhaps creating the index? - of the Scientific Notebooks 94 to 96 as well as...
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This notebook contains Charles Lyell’s notes from January to May 1844 while in London. Notes are in pencil and ink. The notebook index is located in the back of the notebook on pages 112-115. From pp.20-22, 32 - with Darwin Transcription note: 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...
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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 pencil 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...
Scope and Contents
This notebook contains Charles Lyell’s notes from 1 August to 18 September 1844 while in London. It then continues through 26 September to 2 October in York. He visits T.S. Spedding at Mirehouse on Bassenthwaite. The final section of the notebook, through 21 October, pertains to Lyell and Michael Faraday’s participation in an inquiry of the 1844 Haswell coal mine explosion that killed 95 people. Notes are in a mixture of pencil and ink. The notebook index is located in the back of the...
