Biography Charles Lyell

the main geographical

divisions of scotland

the family seat located in strathmore, near highland boundary fault. round house, in strath, farmland, within short distance north-west, on other side of fault, grampian mountains in highlands. family s second country home in different geological , ecological area: spent of childhood @ bartley lodge in new forest, in hampshire in southern england.

lyell entered exeter college, oxford, in 1816, , attended william buckland s lectures. graduated ba hons. second class degree in classics, in december 1819, , gained m.a. 1821. after graduation took law profession, entering lincoln s inn in 1820. completed circuit through rural england, observe geological phenomena. in 1821 attended robert jameson s lectures in edinburgh, , visited gideon mantell @ lewes, in sussex. in 1823 elected joint secretary of geological society. eyesight began deteriorate, turned geology full-time profession. first paper, on recent formation of freshwater limestone in forfarshire , presented in 1822. 1827, had abandoned law , embarked on geological career result in fame , general acceptance of uniformitarianism, working out of ideas proposed james hutton few decades earlier.

charles lyell @ british association meeting in glasgow 1840. painting alexander craig.

in 1832, lyell married mary horner in bonn, daughter of leonard horner (1785–1864), associated geological society of london. new couple spent honeymoon in switzerland , italy on geological tour of area.

lyell family grave in brookwood cemetery memorial lyell

during 1840s, lyell travelled united states , canada, , wrote 2 popular travel-and-geology books: travels in north america (1845) , second visit united states (1849). after great chicago fire, lyell 1 of first donate books found chicago public library. in 1866, elected foreign member of royal swedish academy of sciences.

lyell s wife died in 1873, , 2 years later (in 1875) lyell himself died revising twelfth edition of principles. buried in westminster abbey. lyell knighted (kt) in 1848, , later, in 1864, made baronet (bt), hereditary honour. awarded copley medal of royal society in 1858 , wollaston medal of geological society in 1866. mount lyell, highest peak in yosemite national park, named after him; crater lyell on moon , crater on mars named in honour; mount lyell in western tasmania, australia, located in profitable mining area, bears lyell s name; , lyell range in north-west western australia named after him well. in southwest nelson in south island of new zealand, lyell range, lyell river , gold mining town of lyell (now camping site) named after lyell. jawless fish cephalaspis lyelli, old red sandstone of southern scotland, named louis agassiz in honour of lyell.