1797-1875. Scottish geologist. In his book
The Principles of Geology 1830-33, he opposed
Cuvier's theory that the features of the
Earth were formed by a series of
catastrophes, and expounded Hutton's view,
known as uniformitarianism, that past events
were brought about by the same processes that
occur today - a view that influenced Charles
Darwin's theory of evolution. Lyell trained
and practised as a lawyer, but retired from
the law in 1827 and devoted himself full time
to geology and writing. He implied that the
Earth was much older than the 6,000 years of
prevalent contemporary theory, and provided
the first detailed description of the
Tertiary period. Although it was only in old
age that he accepted that species had changed
through evolution, he nevertheless provided
Darwin with a geological framework within
which evolutionary theories could be placed.
Darwin simply applied Lyell's geological
method - explaining the past through what is
observable in the present - to biology.