Charles Lyell

The frontispiece from Principles of Geology

Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, KT, (November 14, 1797 – February 22, 1875) was a Scottish lawyer, geologist, and populariser of uniformitarianism. Image File history File links Charles_Lyell. ... Image File history File links Charles_Lyell. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1716x1092, 407 KB) Summary The frontispiece from Charles Lyells Principles of Geology (second American edition, 1857), showing the origins of different rock types. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1716x1092, 407 KB) Summary The frontispiece from Charles Lyells Principles of Geology (second American edition, 1857), showing the origins of different rock types. ... James VII ordained the modern Order. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the country. ... For the fish called lawyer, see Burbot. ... The Geologist by Carl Spitzweg A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system (see planetary geology). ... Uniformitarianism, in the philosophy of science, is the assumption that the natural processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present. ...

Charles Lyell was born in Kinnordy, Angus, the eldest of ten children. Lyell's father, also named Charles, was a lawyer and botanist of minor repute and first exposed the younger Charles to the study of nature. Charles spent much of his childhood at the family’s other home, Bartley Lodge in the New Forest, England, where his interest in the natural world was sparked. This article is about the council area in Scotland. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... The Bartley Lodge was built in the 18th century to take advantage of the fantastic hunting offered in the surrounding New Forest. ... For other uses, see New Forest (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Having attended Exeter College, Oxford ending in 1816, Lyell encountered geology as a serious profession under the wing of the naturalist William Buckland.^[1] Upon graduation he took a professional detour into the law, completing a circuit throughout rural England where he could oberseve geology. As his eyesight began to fail him during long hours focusing on legal briefs he in turn adopted geology as a full time profession.^[2] His first paper, "On a Recent Formation of Freshwater Limestone in Forfarshire", was presented in 1822.^[3] By 1827, he had abandoned the law and embarked on a long geological career that would result in the widespread acceptance of the ideas, mainly uniformitarianism, proposed by James Hutton a few decades earlier.
College name Exeter College Latin name Collegium Exoniense Named after Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter Established 1314 Sister college Emmanuel College, Cambridge Rector Ms Frances Cairncross JCR President Simon Heawood Undergraduates 299 MCR President Meredith Riedel Graduates 150 Location of Exeter College within central Oxford , Homepage Boatclub Exeter College... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... William Buckland (12 March 1784 - 24 August 1856) was a prominent English geologist and palaeontologist who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, a proponent of Old Earth creationism and Flood geology who later became convinced by the glaciation theory of Louis Agassiz. ... James Hutton, painted by Abner Lowe. ...

Aside from his work, Lyell had personal interests. In 1832, he married Mary Horner of Bonn, daughter of Leonard Horner (1785-1864), also associated with the Geological Society of London. The new couple spent their honeymoon in Switzerland and Italy on a geological tour of the area.^[4]

During the 1840s, he traveled to the United States and Canada, which resulted in his writing two popular travel-and-geology books: 1845's Travels in North America and A Second Visit to the United States (from 1849).

He won the Copley Medal in 1858 and the Wollaston Medal in 1866. After the Great Chicago Fire, Lyell was one of the first to donate books to help found the Chicago Public Library. The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. ... Artists rendering of the fire, by John R Chapin, originally printed in Harpers Weekly The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in Chicago, Illinois. ... The Chicago Public Library consists of 80 branches (as of March 2006) throughout the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. History Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. ...

His wife Mary died in 1873, two years later 1875, Lyell died as he was revising he twelfth edition of Principles, he was buried in Westminster Abbey.^[5] The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Lyell crater on the Moon and a crater on Mars were named in his honour. In addition, Mount Lyell in western Tasmania, Austrailia, located in a profitable mining area, bears Lyell’s name. Lyell is a lunar crater that lies along the eastern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis, at the northern arm of the bay designated Sinus Concordiae. ... This article is about Earths moon. ... Tycho crater on Earths moon. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Mount Lyell is the highest point in Yosemite National Park. ...

Career and major writings

Charles Lyell in his later years.

Virtually alone among leading British geologists of his era, Lyell supported himself by writing books about his scientific work. He came from a prosperous family, worked briefly as a lawyer in the 1820s, and held the post of Professor of Geology at King's College London in the 1830s, but from 1830 onward his books provided both a comfortable living and growing fame. Each of his three major books was a work continually in progress. All three went through multiple editions during his lifetime, and Lyell used almost every edition as an opportunity to incorporate additional material, rearrange existing material, and revisit old conclusions in light of new evidence. These frequent, substantial revisions added significant value to new editions of Lyell's books, and helped to ensure robust sales to both the scientific community and the general public. Image File history File links Charles_Lyell_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16935. ... For other uses, see Kings College. ...

Principles of Geology, Lyell's first book, was also his most famous, most influential, and most important. First published in three volumes in 1830-33, it established Lyell's credentials as an important geological theorist and introduced the doctrine of uniformitarianism^[6] The central argument in Principles was that "the present is the key to the past:" That geological remains from the distant past can, and should, be explained by reference to geological processes now in operation and thus directly observable. Lyell's interpretation of geologic change as the steady accumulation of minute changes over enormously long spans of time was also a central theme in the Principles, and a powerful influence on the young Charles Darwin, who was given Volume 1 of the first edition by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, just before they set out on the voyage of the Beagle. On their first stop ashore at St Jago Darwin found rock formations which seen "through Lyell's eyes" gave him a revolutionary insight into the geological history of the island, an insight he applied throughout his travels. While in South America Darwin received Volume 2 which firmly rejected the idea of organic evolution, proposing "Centres of Creation" to explain diversity and territory of species. Darwin's ideas gradually moved beyond this, but in geology he was very much Lyell's disciple and sent home extensive evidence and theorising supporting Lyell's uniformitarianism, including Darwin's ideas about the formation of atolls. On his return they became close friends. Lyell continued to firmly reject the idea of organic evolution in each of the first nine editions of the Principles. Confronted with Darwin's On the Origin of Species, he finally offered a tepid endorsement of evolution in the tenth edition. Principles of Geology is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. ... Uniformitarianism, in the philosophy of science, is the assumption that the natural processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present. ... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwins famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality. ... HMS Beagle was a Cherokee class 10-gun brig of the Royal Navy, named after the beagle, a breed of dog. ... On its second voyage, much of it chronicled by Charles Darwin in his book, The Voyage of the Beagle, the HMS Beagle crossed the Atlantic towards Tierra Del Fuego, and carried out surveying especially of the West coast of South America, as well as a number of Pacific islands. ... Santiago (Portuguese for Saint James), or Santiagu in the local Bádiu language, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nations population. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Portion of a Pacific atoll showing two islets on the ribbon or barrier reef separated by a deep pass between the ocean and the lagoon. ... The 1859 edition of On the Origin of Species First published in 1859, The Origin of Species (full title On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) by British naturalist Charles Darwin is one of the pivotal...

Elements of Geology began as the fourth volume of the third edition of Principles: Lyell intended Elements to act as a suitable field guide for students of geology.^[7]. The systematic, factual description of geological formations of different ages contained in Principles grew so unwieldy, however, that Lyell split it off into a single volume under the Elements title in 1838. The book went through six editions, eventually growing to two volumes and ceasing to be the inexpensive, portable handbook that Lyell had originally envisioned. Late in his career, therefore, Lyell produced a condensed version titled Student's Elements of Geology that fulfilled the original purpose. Principles of Geology is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. ... Look up element in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man brought together Lyell's views on three key themes from the geology of the Quaternary Period of Earth history: glaciers, evolution, and the age of the human race. First published in 1863, it went through three editions that year, with a fourth and final edition appearing in 1873. Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man is an 1863 book by British geologist Charles Lyell. ... This article is about the geologic period. ...

Scientific contributions

Lyell's geological interests ranged from volcanoes and geological dynamics through stratigraphy, paleontology and glaciology to topics that would now be classified as prehistoric archaeology and paleoanthropology. He is best known, however, for his role in popularising the doctrine of uniformitarianism. Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering (stratification). ... Paleontology, palaeontology or palæontology (from Greek: paleo, ancient; ontos, being; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. ... Lateral moraine on a glacier joining the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. ... For referencing in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Citing sources. ... Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil hominid evidence such as petrifacted bones and footprints. ... Uniformitarianism, in the philosophy of science, is the assumption that the natural processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present. ...

Uniformitarianism

From 1830 to 1833 his multi-volume Principles of Geology was published. The work's subtitle was "An Attempt to explain the former changes of the Earth's surface by reference to causes now in operation", and this explains Lyell's impact on science. He drew his explainations from field studies conducted directly before he went to work on the founding geology text.^[8]He was, along with the earlier John Playfair, the major advocate of the then-controversial idea of uniformitarianism, that the earth was shaped entirely by slow-moving forces acting over a very long period of time. This was in contrast to catastrophism, a geologic idea that went hand-in-hand with age of the earth as implied by biblical chronology. In various revised editions (twelve in all, through 1872), Principles of Geology was the most influential geological work in the middle of the 19th century, and did much to put geology on a modern footing. For his efforts he was knighted in 1848, then made a baronet in 1864. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Principles of Geology is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. ... Professor John Playfair FRSE (March 10, 1748 – July 20, 1819) was a Scottish scientist. ... Uniformitarianism, in the philosophy of science, is the assumption that the natural processes operating in the past are the same as those that can be observed operating in the present. ... Catastrophism is the idea that Earth has been affected by sudden, short-lived, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Volcanoes and geological dynamics

Before the work of Lyell, phenomenon such as earthquakes were understood by the destruction that they wrought. One of the contributions that Lyell made in Principles was to explain the cause of earthquakes.^[9] Lyell, in contrast focused on recent earthquakes (150 yrs), evidenced by surface irregularities such as faults, fissures, stratigraphic displacements and depressions.^[10]
Lyell's work on volcanoes focused largely on Vesuvius and Etna, both of which he had earlier studied. His conclusions supported gradual building of volcanoes, so-called "backed up-building,"^[11][12][13] In these areas he concluded that the recent strata (rock layers) could be categorized according to the number and proportion of marine shells encased within. Based on this he proposed dividing the Tertiary period into three parts, which he named the Pliocene, Miocene, and Eocene. Tertiary geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately 65 million to 1. ... The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... The Miocene Epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23. ... hfajhfiudshfas == == == --24. ...

Glaciers

In Principles of Geology (first edition, vol. 3, Ch. 2, 1833)^[14] Lyell proposed that icebergs could be the means of transport for erratics. During periods of global warming, ice breaks off the poles and floats across submerged continents, carrying debris with it, he conjectured. When the iceberg melts, it rains down sediments upon the land. Because this theory could account for the presence of diluvium, the word "drift" became the preferred term for the loose, unsorted material, today called "till." Furthermore, Lyell believed that the accumulation of fine angular particles covering much of the world (today called loess) was a deposit settled from mountain flood water. Today some of Lyell's mechanisms for geologic processes have been disproven, though many have stood the test of time.^[15] His observational methods and general analytical framework remain in use today as foundational principles in geology.^[16]

Evolution

Charles Darwin was a close personal friend, and Lyell was one of the first prominent scientists to support On the Origin of Species;he also fully accepted natural selection as the driving engine behind evolution in his tenth edition of Principles.^[17] In fact, Lyell was instrumental in arranging the peaceful co-publication of the theory of natural selection by Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in 1858, reflecting the fact that each had arrived at the theory independently (Darwin long before Wallace, however). Lyell's own The Geological Evidence of the Antiquity of Man followed a few years later in 1863. Lyell's data was important because Darwin thought that populations of an organism changed very slowly, requiring what is now known as "geologic time". For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... The 1859 edition of On the Origin of Species First published in 1859, The Origin of Species (full title On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) by British naturalist Charles Darwin is one of the pivotal... For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ... The term moral obligation has a number of meanings in moral philosophy, in religion, and in laymans terms. ... For the Cornish painter, see Alfred Wallis. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Geological Surveys

Mention should be made concerning the promotion of Geological Surveys. Lyell stated the “econonmic advantages” that geological surveys could provide, citing their felicity in mineral rich countries and provinces. Modern surveys, like the U.S. Geological Survey, map and exhibit the natural resources existing within the country. So, in endorsing surveys, as well as advancing the study of geology, Lyell helped to forward the business of modern extractive industries, such as the coal and oil industry. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. ...

Bibliography

Principles of Geology

Main article: Principles of Geology

• Principles of Geology 1st vol. 1st edition, Jan. 1830 (John Murray, London).
• Principles of Geology 1st vol. 2nd edition, 1832
• Principles of Geology 2nd vol. 1st edition, Jan. 1832
• Principles of Geology 2nd vol. 2nd edition, Jan. 1833
• Principles of Geology 3rd vol. 1st edition, May 1833
• Principles of Geology 4 vols. 3rd edition, May 1834
• Principles of Geology 4 vols. 4th edition, June 1835
• Principles of Geology 4 vols. 5th edition, March 1837
• Principles of Geology 3 vols. 6th edition, June 1840
• Principles of Geology 1 vol. 7th edition, Feb. 1847
• Principles of Geology 1 vol. 8th edition, May 1850
• Principles of Geology 1 vol. 9th edition, June 1853
• Principles of Geology 10th edition, 1866-68
• Principles of Geology 11th edition, 1872
• Principles of Geology 2 vols. 12th edition, 1875 (published posthumously)

Principles of Geology is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell. ... John Murray is a British publishing house, renowned for the roster of authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Lord Byron and Charles Darwin. ...

Elements of Geology

• Elements of Geology 1 vol. 1st edition, July 1838 (John Murray, London)
• Elements of Geology 2 vols. 2nd edition, July 1841
• Elements of Geology (Manual of Elementary Geology) 1 vol. 3rd edition, Jan. 1851
• Elements of Geology (Manual of Elementary Geology) 1 vol. 4th edition, Jan. 1852
• Elements of Geology 1 vol. 5th edition, ????
• Elements of Geology 6th edition, 1865
• Student's Elements of Geology, 1871

Travels in North America

• Travels in North America 2 vols., 1845 (John Murray, London)
• A Second Visit to the United States of North America 2 vols., 1849 (John Murray, London)

Antiquity of Man

• Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man 1 vol. 1st edition, Feb. 1863 (John Murray, London)
• Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man 1 vol. 2nd edition, April 1863
• Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man 1 vol. 3rd edition, Nov. 1863
• Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man 1 vol. 4th edition, May 1873

Life, Letters, and Journals

• Life, Letters, and Journals of Sir Charles Lyell 2 vols. 1st edition, K. M. Lyell, ed., 1881 (John Murray, London)

See also

• Correspondence of Charles Darwin
• Shen Kuo, 11th century Chinese geologist and mineralogist

Charles Darwin in 1854 The British naturalist Charles Darwin had correspondence with numerous other scientific luminaries of his age and members of his family. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Shen Shen Kuo or Shen Kua (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (1031–1095) was a polymathic Chinese scientist and statesman of the Song Dynasty (960–1279). ...

Image source

• Portraits of Honorary Members of the Ipswich Museum (Portfolio of 60 lithographs by T.H. Maguire) (George Ransome, Ipswich 1846-1852)

IPSWICH MUSEUM Early History 1846-1945 Ipswich Museum was founded in 1846 and opened in 1847 in Museum Street, then newly laid-out, with the specific remit to educate the working classes in natural history. ...

References

1. ^ Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
2. ^ Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
3. ^ Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
4. ^ Macomber, Richard W. "Lyell, Sir Charles, Baronet." The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.
5. ^ Macomber, Richard W. "Lyell, Sir Charles, Baronet." The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.
6. ^ http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0/history_12. Accessed 27 Nov. 2007.
7. ^ Bailey, Edward F.R.S. Charles Lyell: A Biography. Garden City, New York. Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963.
8. ^ Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
9. ^ Adams, Frank D. The Birth and Development of the Geological Sciences. Dover Publications, Inc., 1938.
10. ^ Adams, Frank D. The Birth and Development of the Geological Sciences. Dover Publications, Inc., 1938.
11. ^ Bailey, Edward F.R.S. Charles Lyell: A Biography. Garden City, New York. Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963.<ref></ref> as opposed to the upheaval arguement supported by other geologists.

    Stratigraphy

    Lyell's most important specific work was in the field of stratigraphy. From May 1828, until February 1829, he traveled with Roderick Impey Murchison (1782-1831) to the south of France (Auvergne volcanic district) and to Italy.<ref>Bailey, Edward F.R.S. Charles Lyell: A Biography. Garden City, New York. Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1963.</li> <li id="_note-11">'''[[#_ref-11|^]]''' Stafford, Robert A. ''Scientist of Empire.'' Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press, 1989.</li> <li id="_note-12">'''[[#_ref-12|^]]''' Macomber, Richard W. "Lyell, Sir Charles, Baronet." ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica'', Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.</li> <li id="_note-13">'''[[#_ref-13|^]]''' Macomber, Richard W. "Lyell, Sir Charles, Baronet." ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica'', Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.</li> <li id="_note-14">'''[[#_ref-14|^]]''' Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography.'' Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.</li> <li id="_note-15">'''[[#_ref-15|^]]''' Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography.'' Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.</li> <li id="_note-16">'''[[#_ref-16|^]]''' Wilson, Leonard G. "Charles Lyell" ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography.'' Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. VIII. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.</li></ol></ref> Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering (stratification). ... Year 1828 (MDCCCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Sir Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (February 19, 1792 &#8211; October 22, 1871), was a powerful Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian era. ...

    External links

    

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    Charles Lyell
    • Principles of Geology 1st edition at ESP: Electronic Scholarly Publishing. Retrieved on 8 August 2007
    • Works by Charles Lyell at Project Gutenberg
    • Charles Lyell in NNDB: Notable Names Database.
    • Charles Lyell in Strange Science