Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell (1797-1875), Scottish geologist, whose writings strongly influenced the development of modern geology.

Lyell was born in Kinnordy (now Angus), and educated at the University of Oxford. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but soon afterward devoted himself almost entirely to science, particularly geology. Building on the pioneering work of the 18th-century Scottish geologist James Hutton, Lyell developed the theory of uniformitarianism. This theory says that the natural processes that change the earth in the present have operated in the past at the same gradual rate. Lyell supported his theory with geological observations that he made in the course of extensive travels in Europe and North America.

Uniformitarianism contradicted the theory of catastrophism, which was popular among scientists of Lyell's time. Catastrophism claimed that only major catastrophes could change the basic formation of the earth, and that the earth was only about 6000 years old. Most scientists believed that catastrophism was consistent with the Bible's account of the earth's creation. Lyell published his theories in Principles of Geology, which he revised 11 times between 1830 and 1872. Lyell's theories influenced the work of his friend Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution. Aspects of evolutionary theory contradicted certain principles of uniformitarianism. However, Lyell eventually became a strong supporter of Darwin's theories.

Lyell is also considered one of the founders of stratigraphy, the study of the layers of the earth's surface. He developed a method for classifying strata, or layers, by studying ancient marine beds in western Europe. Lyell observed that the marine beds closest to the surface, therefore the most recent, contained many species of shell-bearing mollusks that still live in today's seas. On the other hand, deeper, older strata contained fewer and fewer fossils of living species. Lyell divided the rocks of this period into three epochs, based on decreasing percentages of modern species. The names he proposed—Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene—are still used today. Lyell was knighted in 1848 and became a baron in 1864.

See Geology: History of Geological Thought: 18th and 19th Centuries.