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.
Scope and Contents
This notebook, of worn brown leather, contains geological notes and observations likely written from Lyell's reading papers and journals. Some notes on the law profession. The cover reads 'Inside. D. July 1927' in large script. 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...
Scope and Contents
This notebook contains geological notes on Forfarshire, sketches, and many queries at the end. 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 have been expanded using brackets []. When writing is unclear, and transcription is not...
Scope and Contents
This noteboook contains gostly geological notes; lists of books to be read. Features a passage on respect for human opinions. 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 have been expanded using brackets []. When writing is...
Scope and Contents
This brown leather notebook features Lyell's copy hand throughout, many detailed sketches, Dover, Calais, mention of Auvergne, Fault Shakespeare's Cliff, Geological observations at Dover, Calais and on road south from Paris to Riom. The inside cover notes his address, "Mr. C Lyell, No 9 Crown Office Row, Temple". The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the...
Scope and Contents
This notebook of brown leather contains geological notes on the Auvergne region. Lyell writes in a journalistic style with daily observations and descriptions, with whole page sketches and diagrams of the landscape. The inside cover is written "Mr C Lyell No. 9 Crown Office Row Temple." The front plate reads "No 2 France, Clermont Ferrand, Auvergne, May 18th to June 2nd 1828." The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied...
Scope and Contents
This notebook of brown leather contains further geological observations in Auvergne, often as diary entries of daily observations. On the front cover plate is written "No 3. France Pont du Chateau to Murol May 28th to June 14th 1828". 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....
Scope and Contents
This notebook, of brown leather contains diary like entries in full sentences, accompanied by illustrations; cross sections, detailed, labeled. Subjects include granite, schist, St Laure, Puy Gros, Cantal basalt, two pages cut or ripped near the end of the notebook. The front cover plate reads; "No. 4 France Mt Dor to Brassac June 16th to the 27th 1828" The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own...
Scope and Contents
This notebook, of natural red leather, contains journal style entries in Lyell's hand with illustrations, mostly of mountain ranges, extinct volcanoes. Direction of handwriting changes, and is pencil and ink. The cover reads "No 5 France Issoire, by Puy en Velay, to Montelinart. June 30th to July 21 1828". The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of the...
Scope and Contents
This brown leather notebook is written in daily entries with full page detailed sketches, and contains notes on geology of Montpellier and Nice, reflections on geological processes and the extension of Rhone delta. On pp.76-78 Lyell writes an analogy between history and geology; p.79 is titled "One state of Nature dependant on another". Front plate: No 6, France, Montpelier, to Grosail. July 24th to Aug 23rd 1828. Written in pencil and ink. ...
Scope and Contents
Front cover, No 1 Italy 1828 Nice Aug 25th, Verona Sept 13th. This light green marbled notebook contains notes from Lyell's journey from Nice to Verona, including Lists of shells found in Subappenine beds; Notes on 'Praeternatural Causes', Vallisnieri and 'Modern Causes'. Lyell often only writes on one side of the page, in ink and pencil. The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the...
