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=** Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) **=

Alexandra Morant


Charles Lyell was born in 1797 in Scotland. From a young age he was interested in natural science, and when he attended college in Oxford, his professors encouraged him to grow in geological studies by attending their lectures. Nevertheless he became a renowned British lawyer with just a fascination of rocks. In 1830 he gave up the political status, and became a geologist that really pushed the science world to think of science as a separate being, and not a supernatural idea. He married Mary Horner, who helped and influenced him with his work. His theories and several books led him to be knighted by Queen Victoria in 1848. Even though he had extremely poor eyesight, it did not stop him from creating the modernity of geological science, and influencing other scientist to be just as great. He died in 1875. (reformation.edu).

Geology during Lyell's time was mostly defined by religious ideas, for example; The story of Noah's Ark caused the people to believe that the great flood that God created was the event that caused deep cut valleys, and other land formations. They called this theory "Catastrophism," they believed that Earth began as a molten rock, and as it cooled, plants were derived, and mountains and volcanoes were formed. Charles Lyell challenged this, he wanted to make "geology a true science of its own, built on observation and not susceptible to wild speculations or dependent on the supernatural." (evolution.berkley.edu)



When writing about his geological discoveries, Charles Lyell wrote, "such discoveries have led me, and other geologists, to reconsider the evidence previously derived from caves brought forward in proof of the high antiquity of Men." Many of his ideas and inspiration come from James Hutton who, in the 1790's, argued that the Earth was not transformed by unimaginable catastrophes, but slow changes. (evolution.berkley.edu).

Many people began to change their ideas on the world of science because of the shift that Lyell had caused, and many call him the Founder of Modern Geology. In 1830, at age 33, he published his first book "The Principles of Geology" which mainly provided the idea that "the forces molding the planet today have operated continuously throughout it's history." (pbs.org). His theory was named "Uniformitarianism" whose main motto is "the present is the key to the past." This laid the base for his several other books, and for the rest of his life. He traveled all over Europe to find evidence that gradual change happens naturally, and that it is an continuous process. He also wrote "The Elements of Geology" in 1837 as a text book for students interested in geology. For the rest of his life he continued to change and edit these writings to keep up with the modern findings of geology. During his travels around Europe, he witnessed many things; the formations of mountains after an earthquake (though they did not know about tectonic plates and their constant movement), wind erosion on different rock formations, and how other natural forces change the face of the Earth. (evolution.berkley.edu).

In many ways, Charles Lyell influenced the way Charles Darwin interpreted his theory of Evolution. While Darwin was traveling the world, he was reading "The Principles of Geology" and even witnessed some of these natural phenomenons himself. The theme of Uniformitarianism was that many things formed themselves in a slow process, like how a river is formed through the slow process of wearing down the rocks beneath the water, Darwin interpreted the same idea into how humans evolved into what we are now. Darwin was also able to decipher histories of the Canary Islands from Lyell's ideas on volcanic eruptions. (evolution.berkley.edu). On a more ironic side, Lyell had a difficult time accepting Darwin's ideas of evolution because of his religious ideas.

Charles Lyell also influenced Modern Geology in several ways; he created a science based theory on how the formation of the world happened, and how it continues to happen today. Lyell created the chronology of rock layers (geological column), and added age dates and names to the layers. (allaboutcreation.org). His ideas of the evolutions of the Earth itself opened the gateway to several other scientific worlds; we can now carbon-date things in order to, almost exactly, figure out their age. We also now know about tectonic plates, and how when they move together they can cause an earthquake and either build mountains or create deep trenches. None of this would even be possible if science was still linked to ideas of the supernatural, and not the natural world and the way it takes care of itself.


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** References **
 * Biography of Sir Charles Lyell. (n.d.). //Scripture and Science//. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from reformation.edu/scripture-science-stott/ages/pages/08-bio-charles-lyell.htm
 * Charles Lyell (1797-1875) geologist.. (n.d.). //The Victorian Web: An Overview//. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://victorianweb.org/science/lyell.html
 * Evolution: Library: Charles Lyell: Principles of Geology. (n.d.). //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/4/l_024_01.html
 * James Hutton And Charles Lyell. (n.d.). //Creation - AllAboutCreation.org//. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://allaboutcreation.org/james-hutton-and-charles-lyell-faq.htm
 * Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) an eminent scientist. (n.d.). //Angus Council// . Retrieved January 14, 2013, from angus.gov.uk/history/features/people/lyell.htm
 * Uniformitarianism: Charles Lyell. (n.d.). //Understanding Evolution//. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from evolution.berkley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_12

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