Thomas Hagen: 2006 

Charles Lyell is considered by many to be the father of modern geology. He literally defined the science in his 1833 book Principles of Geology. His nineteenth century theories have gone on to influence some of the most important scientists of our time, including Charles Darwin. His theory of uniformitarianism and dating method of stratification continue to be used as a basis for scientific research today. Charles Lyell has touched the world of modern science like few men in history.Charles Lyell was born in the Scottish region of Angus on November 14, 1797. Charles, the eldest of ten children (Wikipedia contributors, 2006), learned the alphabet at three years old, but was unable to attend school until the age of eight (Fenton, 1945). Poor health put a steady education out of reach for the boy (Fenton, 1945), but his botanist father opened up the world of nature to him at home. The family’s second home in New Forest, England provided the setting for the young Lyell to study the subject up close (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

At nineteen Lyell was finally able to enter Oxford University. While at Oxford, he studied geology and mathematics. He also worked with university professors on several insect projects. In 1818 Charles toured the European wilderness for three months with his geology professor. On his first adventure he visited glaciers, mountains, and lakes (Fenton, 1945).

Lyell graduated from Oxford in 1819. At the joy of his father, he went to London to study the field of law with a “special pleader” (Fenton, 1945), but deteriorating sight took him out of the law office on two occasions. During those breaks in his law studies he went to France, where he listened to science lectures and associated with many prominent men. In 1825 Lyell passed the bar exam, and went to work following a circuit court, allowing him to spend more time studying nature. He studied rocks and fossils, went to Geological Society meetings in London, and wrote a very popular article that defended the theories of Playfair and Hutton. Lyell left the field of law in 1827 (Fenton, 1945).

James Hutton theorized that the Earth’s internal heat had more energy in the past, based on large collections of molten material in the crust. He found many of these collections on a small scale in Scotland, but was convinced that there were huge collections based on outcroppings of large pieces of granite (Geikie, 1962). Hutton published his theory in a 1795 essay entitled Theory of the Earth; or an Investigation into the Laws Observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration upon the Globe. Hutton’s theory was attacked by many prominent geologists of the time, but was later an inspiration to Lyell (Fenton, 1945).

Charles’ eyesight was getting progressively worse. As young as age thirty, objects in the distance were blurred, and he often could not see far enough to know where to step while walking. Regardless of his failing eyes, Lyell was planning a book that would discuss the ideas of Hutton, and arrange the various fundamentals of geology. His book would require the latest data, and also a review of areas already described. Lyell went about planning a trip to mainland Europe with fellow geologist Roderick Murchison and Mrs. Murchison (Fenton, 1945).

Lyell and the Murchisons began their trip in France, tracing ancient lake deposits, following hardened lava streams, and investigating extinct volcanoes. From there they headed to Italy, where the Italian heat drove the Murchison couple to seek escape in the European region of Tyrol. Lyell stayed in Italy, climbed volcanoes, walked across ancient lava fields, and recorded the results of prehistoric earthquakes. On the Italian island of Ischia, Lyell collected seashells from peaks that rose two thousand feet above seal level. In other areas he found marine deposits wedged between clays that had settled on flood plains (Fenton, 1945).

Lyell returned to England in 1829, and began working on his first book, Principles of Geology (Fenton, 1945). The book was originally published in three volumes, spanning from 1830 to 1833 (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). In it, Lyell defined the science of geology with verses such as “The present is the key to the past” (Lyell, 1833). He offered proof that the climate of the northern hemisphere was once hotter through the study of icebergs, fossils, and volcanic strata. He theorized about orangutans “transforming” into humans (Lyell, 1833). But the most important idea in Principles of Geography was the theory of uniformitarianism (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

Uniformitarianism is based on the idea that “the earth was shaped entirely by slow-moving forces acting over a very long period of time” (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). This went against the theory of catastrophism, which believes that “all significant change occurs unexpectedly, all at once, and has widespread effects” (Duening, 1997). Catastrophism was widely accepted due to its use of biblical reference of catastrophes to date the age of the planet. Lyell showed that the uplifting which pushed most of Europe above sea level came with such little disturbance that fossils could be found of species still living in the Mediterranean Sea. To finish his argument, Lyell showed fissures resulting from earthquakes, deposits from ancient hot springs, and dust laid down in strata. Many of Lyell’s discoveries at this time came from relatively young geologic time periods, but were still able to strongly support the theory that our planetary changes continue from ancient to modern times (Fenton, 1945). Eventually, “catastrophists and uniformitarians alike had accepted the immensity of geological time as a central and proven fact of their emerging profession” (Gould, 1999). This theory of extended time is Lyell’s biggest contribution to the discovery of evolutionary ideals (Jurmain, 2006).

Lyell used the Tertiary Age to prove his argument for uniformitarianism, and in turn gave rise to the science of stratigraphy. Stratigraphy is the study of strata to discover the age of the material found within it (Christopherson, 2006). Lyell discovered that “strata could be categorised according to the number and proportion of marine shells encased within” (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). He then used that idea to divide the Tertiary period into three parts. He named them the Pliocene, Miocene, and Eocene periods (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). Stratigraphy is still used today as a scientific method of dating (Christopherson, 2006).

While Lyell was writing Principles of Geology he was appointed professor of geology at King’s College of London. He also took time out to get married. He and his love Mary Horner were married in Bonn, Germany in 1832. While on their honeymoon, the couple took walks and studied the nature and geology of their surroundings (Fenton, 1945).

In the spring of 1832, Lyell began lecturing at King’s College. His class was filled with more scientists, lawyers, and prominent men than students. Lyell paid an artist to accompany him during lectures. The artist painted diagrams while the professor dazzled the audience. Several of the men brought their wives and sisters to the lectures. This was the first exposure to science for many of the women. However, the college did not approve, and closed the class to women. Lyell resigned when his class dropped to fifteen students the following year (Fenton, 1945).

As Lyell was working on a fourth volume to Principles of Geology, he found the material had become unmanageable. He opted to turn that volume into its own title-Elements of Geology (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). In Elements, Lyell refines his idea of stratigraphy, offers a “chronological classification of rocks” (Lyell, 1878), defines his Tertiary sub-periods, and offers information on other geologic time periods (Lyell, 1878). The book eventually became so large that it grew into two volumes (Wikipedia contributors, 2006). The work was so popular that people new to the science of geology began to read it. Many of them found the ideas confusing, and in time Lyell published an abridged version entitled The Student’s Elements of Geology (Lyell, 1878).

In 1841, Lyell set sail with his wife for the shores of North America. The couple arrived at Halifax, and immediately went to New York to observe Niagara Falls. Lyell found both the scenery and the people of the United States to be very pleasing. He met several geologists who showed him fossils, notes of unpublished works, and local areas for him to study. Lyell observed strata, coal fields, and “traced successive faunas in the greensands of New Jersey” (Fenton, 1945).

While in the United States, Lyell gave a series of lectures at the Lowell Institute in Boston. Rich and poor, men and women came together to hear the now famous geologist speak. He also had speaking engagements in Philadelphia. Lyell went on to study dinosaur footprints in Massachusetts, as well as visiting Ohio. He again visited Niagara Falls before going into Canada, where he “collected modern species of sea shells on hills in Montreal” (Fenton, 1945). He observed waves battering the cliffs of Nova Scotia as the tides rose and fell up to fifty feet (Fenton, 1945).

The trip to North America lasted thirteen months. The Lyells then returned to London, where Charles began to write his next book, Travels in North America. Published in 1845, Travels shows an interest in human beings that Lyell had not previously displayed in past works. He had long been an advocate for progressive reform in England, and found many of those reforms occurring in the United States. The book mixes chapters including data on issues such as “Succession of Strata on the Ohio between Pomeroy and Cincinnati” with others that discuss topics like “German and Irish Settlers,” “Presidential Elections,” and the “Relative Value of Labour and Land” (Lyell, 1845). Lyell used the book to call for widespread reforms in universities throughout England (Fenton, 1945).

The Lyells returned to North America in late 1845. As with his initial visit, Charles studied the people as well as the geology and nature of the New World. In his book A Second Visit to the United States of North America, Charles again mixes geology with humanity. From horticulture in Boston to the “Hospitality of Southern Planters” (Lyell, 1849), Lyell displays his amazement of the United States culture and land. The issue of slavery gets special attention as Charles explores the intelects of “Half-Breeds and Hybrids” (Lyell, 1849).

In December of 1859, Charles Darwin published Origin of Species, which introduced the world to the theory of evolution. Darwin was very good friends with Charles Lyell; having dinner with the Lyell couple regularly when he visited London (Browne, 2002). Charles Darwin was largely influenced by Lyell’s Principles of Geology. The book played a major role in Darwin’s development of evolutionary theory (Fortey, 2005). The two men would continue their mutual respect and friendship until Lyell’s death (Browne, 2002).

Lyell had kept busy revising his books until Darwin’s Origin of Species gave him a new vision. Where Lyell had once influenced the direction of Charles Darwin, Darwin was now influencing Lyell’s direction. In 1863 he published The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, which sold out its first three pressings. In the book, Lyell examined “human geological history” (Browne, 2002) through human fossil records, peat moss, glaciers, and stratification (Browne, 2002).

The Antiquity of Man had Lyell again challenging the thinkers of the day through its views on the age of the human race. Jules Verne “used Lyell’s enlarged vision of time in Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 1864 (Browne, 2002). Before Darwin and Lyell, conventional wisdom held that Adam and Eve shared a life of paradise in the Garden of Eden. By 1867 scientists were exploring the idea of a cruel and savage world, where humans wore animal skins and wielded stone tools (Browne, 2002).

Lyell began suffering bouts of illness that were brought on by the passage of time. Regardless, Mr. and Mrs. Lyell refused to settle into inactivity. The couple continued to entertain friends and travel, and Charles continually revised his works. They toured Scottland and the English coast, and then headed to the Alps. In the summer of 1972 they went to Aurignac, to observe remains of prehistoric man. Another trip to Switzerland in 1873 was canceled when Mary Lyell was stuck with a sudden illness and died. Her death came as a shock to Charles, but he found himself able to cope by continuing his daily study of geology. In 1874 he made his final trip to Scottland. His health faded quickly that year, and by the first of January he was unable to leave his room. Sir Charles Lyell died on February 22, 1875. His friends petitioned for his burial in Westminster Abbey (Fenton, 1945), where his body continues to lie today (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

The various contributions made by Charles Lyell did not go unnoticed, or unrewarded. In 1848 he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his breakthroughs in geology. He served on many public committees, where he worked with Prince Albert on several occassions. Lyell came to hold great respect for the knowledgeable man, and greatly mourned his death in 1861. The Queen was fond of The Antiquity of Man, and often discussed topics such as caves, ancient races, and Darwin with Sir Charles Lyell (Fenton, 1945). Lyell was made a baronet in 1864 (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

In life, Lyell received the highest and oldest award given by the Royal Society of London-the Copely Medal-in 1858. Later, in 1866, he was awarded the highest award given by the Geological Society of London-the Wallaston Medal. After his death the appreciation continued. A crater on the lunar surface was named after Charles Lyell. The Lyell Crater is located on the eastern edge of the Mare Tranquillitatus. The interior of the crater has been resurfaced by lava, giving it low albido in relation to its surroundings. A crater on the planet Mars has also been named after Charles Lyell (Wikipedia contributors, 2006).

The work of Charles Lyell has altered the shape of modern science forever. Few men in modern history have contributed as greatly to the pursuit of truth and science as Lyell. In an age when beliefs superceded facts, Charles Lyell showed that science held the answers to the mysteries of Earth and mankind. Science owes much to this pillar of wisdom. 

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Lyell, Charles. 1845. Travels in North America, Canada, and Nova Scotia with Geological Observations. London: John Murray. Library of Congress. LOC.gov. <http://rs6.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/lhbtn:@field(DOCID+@lit(lhbtn7784b))>. (accessed October 4, 2006).

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