CHARLES LYELL: BIOGRAPHY AND THEORIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was a Scottish geologist born in 1797 whose theories have led him to be considered one of the fathers of modern geology, along with James Hutton. In addition, he also studied law, becoming a lawyer for some years.

However, from a very young age, his true passion was the study of natural history. Very soon he began to travel to investigate the different geological formations of Great Britain, first, and other European countries, later.

Source: John & Charles Watkins, via Wikimedia Commons

As a result of his travels, he developed the theory of uniformity, which had already been pointed out by Hutton previously. Lyell published the results of his investigations in a work divided into several volumes: Principles of Geology.

In short, his theory stated that the formation of the Earth was not due to natural catastrophes, but to processes present in all eras of history.

In addition to this contribution, Lyell was the author of Elements of Geology and The Antiquity of Man. He was also the initiator of stratigraphy and divided the Tertiary era into three periods: Eocene, Miocene and Pliocene.

Biography

Charles Lyell was born on November 14, 1797 in the Scottish town of Kinnordy. He was the eldest of 10 siblings and the son of a not well known lawyer and botanist. It was his father who introduced young Charles to the study of nature.

Studies and first jobs

Although, under the influence of his father, Lyell was interested in natural history from a very young age, it was not until his admission to Exeter College (Oxford), in 1816, that he opted for that discipline. The culprit was the well-known paleontologist and geologist William Buckland, who taught some subjects at the university.

In 1817, Lyell traveled to the Yare estuary, where he made one of his first field investigations. Later, he went to the island of Staffa, his first trip of geological interest.

His next posting, from June to October 1818, was to France, Switzerland, and Italy. Accompanied by his family, Lyell was fascinated by the alpine landscapes and by the glaciers that he saw during the tour.

Geological Society of London

Charles Lyell was admitted in 1819 to the Geological Society of London and the Linnean Society. It was at this time that he began to suffer severe headaches and vision problems. These conditions would later influence his professional life, since they affected him to practice as a lawyer.

After a new trip to Europe, this time in the company of his father, Lyell began to study law, although he continued with his expeditions to various places in England to observe geological formations.

Advocacy

By 1822, Lyell was already working as a lawyer. Their job was to bring the disputes to court.

In 1823, he traveled to France under the pretext of learning French. Lyell took advantage of the trip to meet naturalists such as Humboldt or Cuvier, among others.

By then, according to his biographers, Lyell was very clear that he preferred to dedicate himself to geology. However, the family's financial situation and the pressure from his father forced him to resign from his position as secretary at the Geological Society and to devote more time to the legal profession.

Career as a geologist

According to biographers, his vision problems were one of the main causes for Lyell to abandon the practice of law in 1827. From that moment, he began his career as a geologist.

The following year, he traveled to France to Italy in order to study the freshwater strata and volcanoes in the area. After nine months of work, he returned to London, enthusiastic about his findings.

Principles of Geology

In July 1829, Lyell shut himself up in Kinnordy to begin writing what would become the first volume of his masterpiece, Principles of Geology.

For three months, he worked tirelessly, managing to finish not only that first installment, but also start the second. The book went on sale in 1830, obtaining considerable success.

Second volume of his work

After visiting the volcanic area of ​​Olot, Spain, the scientist returned to London to finish the second volume of his work. The good reception of the first, which was already in its second edition, greatly encouraged him, so he began to work hard.

It was then, too, when he baptized the periods of the Tertiary Era as Eocene, Miocene and Pliocene, denominations that remain today.

In addition, he managed to create a chair of geology at King's College, for which he had to convince the Church of England that his theories were not against the Bible.

Marriage

In early 1832, Lyell began writing the third volume of his book, as well as giving a series of lectures at King's College. These were very successful, so much so that they had to accept the presence of women among the listeners for the first time at the institution.

Despite this great reception, the author had to face the misgivings of the Church, which feared that Lyell's contributions to geology would deny those that appeared in the Bible about the creation of the planet.

Regarding his personal life, Lyell became engaged to Mary Horner, daughter of a member of the Geological Society. The wedding took place on July 12 and the newlyweds set out on a long honeymoon trip to Europe.

Third volume

After their marriage, Lyell finished in a few months to write the third and final volume of his work. He finished his assignment in April 1833 and immediately began a second cycle of lectures at King's College.

On this occasion, the influx was quite less. This, and the proceeds from the sales of his books, caused Lyell to resign from the chair. From then on, he divided his time between doing field work in the summer and writing in the winter.

Thus, during the following years, he traveled to Sweden, France, Denmark and the Swiss Alps, always to carry out research. Likewise, in 1835, he was appointed president of the Geological Society.

U.S

Lyell and his wife also made several trips to the United States that contributed to the geologist's fame. The first was in July 1841 to give some lectures, something that he would repeat in September 1845.

In London

During his stays in London, Lyell continued his work. Thus, he undertook a revision of the Principles for the release of the seventh edition in 1847.

In addition, he dedicated himself to writing about his travels, some scientific articles and the content of the lectures he had to give.

Likewise, together with his father-in-law, he managed to change the statutes of the Royal Society. The main reform they achieved was that the members of that institution were chosen only for their scientific merits and not for their social rank. In addition, he embarked on a struggle to reform the English university.

Sir Charles Lyell

Lyell's participation in the English university educational reform led him to meet Prince Albert, also interested in the subject. Queen Victoria, in recognition of their merits, knighted them (Sir), the most prestigious title in the country.

During this time the death of Charles's father occurred. In the will, he had divided the inheritance among all the brothers, although the tradition then was to leave all the properties to the older brother. This caused considerable discomfort in Charles, who felt it as a betrayal.

In 1850 his mother died and the family home was rented. Lyell, still angered by his father's decision, never returned to Kinnordy.

New trip to the United States

In the fall of 1852, Lyell returned to the United States to give lectures. The following year she repeated the fate, this time as part of a British commission appointed by the queen to represent the country at the International Industrial Exhibition. It would be the last trip of the marriage to the American continent.

Death

Lyell's wife passed away in 1873. Just two years later, on February 22, 1875, Charles Lyell died in London while he was working on a new revision of his Principles of Geology.

Theories

Half a century before Lyell published his work, James Hutton, another geologist, had challenged the beliefs of the time about how changes had occurred on the planet.

In front of the catastrophists, in favor of the fact that natural catastrophes had been responsible, he affirmed that they had been due to natural processes that lasted thousands of years.

Charles Lyell picked up on that influence and provided evidence to improve what Hutton pointed out. In turn, Lyell's work became a support for Darwin's theory of evolution.

Uniformist theses

Formulated by James Hutton, the uniformitarian thesis that Charles Lyell defended, changed the vision about how geological changes had developed on the planet. Until then it was considered that the causes had been great punctual catastrophes.

Faced with this, the uniformitarians said that the geographical features had formed very slowly, over long periods of time and from non-exceptional physical forces. Among these, the supporters of the theory pointed to erosion, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or floods.

Lyell gathered numerous evidences on this theory during the course of his travels. All the findings were published in the volumes of Principles of Geology, a work that he revised up to eleven times over the years.

Theory of dynamic equilibrium

Among his contributions to geology, the theory of dynamic equilibrium was one of the most important. Lyell began by applying it to the geological context, but later went on to relate it to the organic as well.

According to this theory, two forms in which geological formations occur can be distinguished: watery phenomena, such as erosion and sedimentation, and igneous phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Both types occur periodically, compensating for each other.

At the same time, Lyell affirmed that something similar happened with the extinction and creation of species, since the disappearance of some was compensated by the appearance, through natural laws, of others.

Stratigraphy

Lyell's works were the origin of a new discipline: stratigraphy. This consists of the classification of the earth according to the layers or levels that compose it.

The geologist did this in the marine strata of Western Europe, a task that led to the appearance of the names of various time eras: the Miocene, Eocene, and Pliocene.

References

1. Royuela, Quique. Charles Lyell, father of modern geology. Retrieved from principia.io
2. Canarian Orotava Foundation for the History of Science. Lyell's life. Obtained from fundacionorotava.org
3. Biographies and Lives. Charles Lyell. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
4. Famous Scientists. Charles Lyell. Retrieved from famousscientists.org
5. Macomber, Richard W. Sir Charles Lyell, Baronet. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Understanding Evolution. Uniformitarianism: Charles Lyell. Retrieved from evolution.berkeley.edu
7. Scoville, Heather. Biography of Charles Lyell. Retrieved from thoughtco.com
8. The Lyell Center. Sir Charles Lyell. Retrieved from lyellcentre.ac.uk