Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell (1797–1875) was a Scottish geologist and author, best known for his influential work in the field of geology. His most famous book, "Principles of Geology," published in three volumes between 1830 and 1833, introduced the theory of uniformitarianism, which suggested that the Earth's features were shaped by slow, gradual processes over vast periods of time. This challenged the prevailing view that Earth's geological features were formed by sudden, catastrophic events. Lyell's ideas greatly influenced Charles Darwin and helped shape modern geology.

Author's Books:


Tracks of a Lower Silurian reptile in Canada.—In the year 1847, Mr. Robert Abraham announced in the Montreal Gazette, of which he was editor, that the track of a freshwater tortoise had been observed on the surface of a stratum of sandstone in a quarry opened on the banks of the St. Lawrence at Beauharnais in Upper Canada. The inhabitants of the parish being perfectly familiar with the track of... more...

CHAPTER I. Geology defined—Compared to History—Its relation to other Physical Sciences—Not to be confounded with Cosmogony. Geology is the science which investigates the successive changes that have taken place in the organic and inorganic kingdoms of nature; it inquires into the causes of these changes, and the influence which they have exerted in modifying the surface and external structure of... more...