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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This notebook, with marbled brown covers, documents Lyell's trip from Verona to Florence, Italy. It includes geological notes, discussion on the object of geology; Action of Earthquakes; Modern causes; observation on the Colours of fossil shells, sketches of maps and routes, Breccia and shells, Hippopotamus jaw 160, illustration. The front cover plate is titled; "No 2 Italy 1828. Verona Sept 14th, Florence Oct 9th." The following table...
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This smaller, thinner notebook with a marbled cover contains notes during Lyell's trip from Florence to Radicofani, mostly illustrations and field notes of cross-sections, labeled, and some descriptions and queries. The front plate reads "No 3 Italy 1828 Florence Oct 13th to Radicofani Oct 15th". 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,...
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This brown marble notebook was kept during Lyell's trip from, Radicofani to Ischia. Notes were made mostly in pencil, drawn over with ink in faint spots, and writing is often only on one side of the page. There are many illustrations with descriptions. Buckland is mentioned on p. 110, Voltaire on p. 163. 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,...
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This brown leather notebook covers Lyell's activity from Ishcia to Naples. It contains geological notes on Herculaneum, Pompeii, Versuvius; Notes on William Hamilton on great earthquakes in Calabria in 1782; 'Differences between geologist and ordinary observer'; 'Partial activity in the agents of change'; 'Migration'. The front cover plate reads "No 5 Italy 1828 Ischia to Naples Oct 31st to Nov. 15th." The following table of contents is...
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This brown leather notebook covers Lyell's travels from Naples to Nicolosi and contains geological observations at Messina and along the coast road southward; View of Etna and Val del Bove. A list of Shells found at Trezza, notes on 'Modern Causes' p. 151 and 'Laws of Earthquakes' p. 164. The writing is mostly in pencil, and there are a few small sketches. The front plate reads "No 6, Italy 1828, Naples Nov. 16 to Nicolosi Dec 5th." The...
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This notebook with green and pink marbled covers covers Lyell's journey from Nicolosi to Piazza. It contains notes in faint pencil and some ink on the stratification of southern Sicily; 'Duration of species'; and 'Extinction of species'. The front plate reads, "No 7, Sicily 1828, Nicolosi Dec 6th to Piazza Dec 22nd". The following table of contents is Lyell's own words, copied from Lyell's own "Index", found at the beginning and end of...
Scope and Contents
This pink and blue marbled paper notebook covers Lyell's trip from Caltagirone to Naples. It is warped, perhaps from sun or moisture, and the pages appear handcut. It contains geological notes and long essays on 'Uniformity of Nature', 'Earthquakes', 'Extinction of Species', 'Changes'. The front plate reads: "No 8, Sicily 1828-9, Caltagirone 22 Dec to Naples Jan 15th." Key subjects include Earthquakes p. 176, Change by man, p. 169, Change in geological theories, p. 132, Animals and man p....
Scope and Contents
Of brown leather, this notebook contains fragmentary geological notes. Notes also include subjects like the age of plants; aigration of plants; various short essays. The front cover plate is titled "No. 9 Italy 1829 Naples Jan 16th to Geneva Feb 8th". Lyell writes primarily in pencil, with some ink illustrations. Lyell's Own Index p. 5, Naples
p. 8, Rome
p. 11, Villa Mellina
p. 11, Villa Madama
p. 19, Laghetto...
Scope and Contents
This notebook, of brown leather, covers Lyell's trip from Geneva to Paris. Clearly kept while traveling, Lyell's writing orientation changes frequently, ink blotches occasionally obscure text, and illustrations are sketched amongst observations. Contents include essays on Cosmogony, 'Duration of Species', 'Uniformity', role of a historical sketch, 'Creation of Species', 'Christianity & Science'. The following table of contents is...
Scope and Contents
This brown leather notebook contains mostly very brief and miscellaneous notes and references. The writing is done all in ink, with a few sketches. There is no front plate, just ink "March 1829". The inside cover reads: Mr C Lyell, 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 notebook, transcribed from digital surrogates using the...
