Lyell, Sir Charles

Lyell, Sir Charles
born Nov. 14, 1797, Kinnordy, Forfarshire, Scot.
died Feb. 22, 1875, London, Eng.

Scottish geologist.

While studying law at the University of Oxford, he became interested in geology and later met such notable geologists as Alexander von Humboldt and Georges Cuvier. Lyell came to believe that there were natural (as opposed to supernatural) explanations for all geologic phenomena, a position he supported with many examples in his three-volume Principles of Geology (1830–33). A recognized leader in his field, he gained the friendship of other well-known men of science, including the Herschel family and Charles Darwin, whose Origin of Species (1859) persuaded Lyell to accept evolution. Lyell was largely responsible for the general acceptance of the concept of uniformitarianism in geology.

Charles Lyell, detail of a replica in oil by Lowes Cato Dickinson, 1883; in the National Portrait ...

Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London

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Universalium. 2010.

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