Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was a famed geologist credited with having popularized uniformitarianism as well as having been one of the most vocal scientists in his belief that science and religion should be kept seperate.

Charles Lyell was born in Scotland on November 14, 1797. His father was a little known botanist who exposed Lyell to nature at a very early age.

In 1816, at the age of nineteen, Lyell attended Oxford University where he developed an interest in geology thanks in part to the lectures of Dr. William Buckland. His interest in geology was accompanied with a passion for a number of other fields of study including: mathematics, the legal system and the classics. Subsequently, Lyell would pursue a legal career upon recieving his B.A. from Oxford in 1816. Shortly thereafter, Lyell began to gravitate towards the sciences. His failing eyesight due to a "chronic weakness of the eyes" is said to have been a factor in his ultimate decision to pursue the geological sciences. In 1819, he was elected a member of the Linnean and Geological Societies where he often took part in a number of debates. He was able to communicate his first paper entitled, "On a Recent Formation of Freshwater Limestone in Forfarshire," in 1822 . By 1827 Lyell was becoming a greatly popular voice in geological research as well as a highly influential scientific theorist.

In 1832 Lyell married Mary Horner of Bonn. Throughout the rest of Lyell's life Mary would become greatly involved in his work as well as the presentation of his ideas to the public. Lyell became the president of the Geological Society in 1835. Following his successes in Britain, Lyell took it upon himself to travel to the United States and Canada. Lyell was knighted in 1848. He also won the Copley Medal in 1858 and the Wollaston Medal in 1866.

By this time Lyell's vision had completely failed him. He passed away on February 22, 1875 and is buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

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