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Authorised form of nameLyell; Sir; Charles (1797 - 1875)
Dates1797 - 1875
NationalityBritish
Place of birthFamily residence at Kinnordy, near Kirriemuir, Forfarshire, Scotland
Date of birth14 November 1797
Place of deathHis house at 53 Harley Street, London
Date of death22 February 1875
Dates and placesBurial:
Nave of Westminster Abbey, London
Research fieldGeology
Evolutionary biology
ActivityEducation:
Oxford; Lincoln's Inn
Career:
Called to the Bar (1825); first Professor of Geology, King's College London (1831- resignation in 1833)
Honours:
Kt 1848; Bt 1864
Memberships:
FGS; FLS; Athenaeum
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election02/02/1826
Royal Society activityMedals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1834; Copley Medal 1858
Lectures:
Bakerian 1835
RelationshipsMarried (12 July 1832) Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Leonard Horner (FRS 1813)
SourcesSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc 1876-1877 vol 25 pp xi-xiv signed by A G
References:
Sir Edward Bailey, 'Charles Lyell, FRS (1797-1875)' in NR 1959 vol 14 pp 121-138, plate
Roy M MacLeod, 'Of Medals and Men: A Reward System in Victorian Science 1826-1914' in NR 1971 vol 26 pp 81-105
Martin Rudwick, 'Charles Lyell, FRS (1797-1875) and His London Lectures on Geology, 1832-33' in NR 1974-5 vol 29 pp 231-263
M J Bartholomew, 'The Award of the Copley Medal to Charles Darwin' in NR 1975-6 vol 30 pp 209-218
David A Cumming, 'John MacCulloch, FRS, at Addiscombe: The Lectureships in Chemistry and Geology' in NR 1979-80 vol 34 pp 155-183
William Mills, 'Darwin and the Iceberg Theory' in NR 1983-84 vol 38 pp 109-127
Gillian Beer, 'Translation or Transformation? The Relations of Literature and Science' in NR 1990 vol 44 pp 81-99
Susan Sheets-Pyenson, '"Pearls Before Swine": Sir William Dawson's Bakerian Lecture of 1870' in NR 1991 vol 45 pp 177-191
G Y Craig, 'The Essence of Lyell', review of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology (1830-33), ed. J Secord, in NR 1998 vol 52 p 375
R W Home, 'The Royal Society and the Empire: the colonial and Commonwealth Fellowship. Part 2. After 1847' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 47-84
G Ferrari and A McConnell, 'Robert Mallet and the 'Great Neapolitan earthquake' of 1857 in NR 2005 vol 59 pp 45-64
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/68999334
Royal Society codeNA8255
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference numberTitleDate
IM/002831Lyell, Sir Charlesnd
MM/9/1Letter from Charles Lyell to Susan19th century
MM/15/70Fragment of a copy of a letter from Charles Lyell to a person unknown on evolution19th century
MM/16/135Letter from Charles Lyell, Royal Society, to Sir John Herschel9 March 1848
IM/Maull/002832Lyell, Sir Charlesnd
MM/19/48Letter from Edward Sabine, President, Royal Society, to William Sharpey, Secretary, Royal Society23 February 1869
MS/710/69Letter from Charles Lyell, 53 Harley Street, London, to Robert Were Fox24 October 1864
IM/Maull/002833Lyell, Sir Charlesnd
MS/769/53Letter from Sir Charles Lyell, 53 Harley Street, to [Walter White?]28 February 1862
RSL/3/10Letter from James Calder, Maryland, to Sir Joseph Banks 10 January 1794
PT/67/8/11Plate, fossilised specimens of Quercus lyelli, Phragmites oeningensis, Echitonium cuspidatum, and Ficus falconeri by P Brugier[1861]
NLB/11/923Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor John Wesley Judd, Fellow of the Royal Society5 November 1895
RR/3/185Referee's report by John Tyndall, on a paper 'On the formation of continuous tabular masses of stony lava on steep slopes; with remarks on the mode of origin of Mount Etna, and the theory of craters of elevation' by Charles Lyell9 October 1858
PT/67/8/21Plate, fossilised leaf of Pecopteris lignitum by W H [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
RR/6/145Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'Contributions to the fossil flora of North Greenland, being a description of the plants collected by Mr. Edward Whymper during the summer of 1867' by Oswald Heer30 March 1869
PT/67/8/3Plate, fossilised leaves and seeds from Pecopteris lignitum, Sequoia couttsiae, and Lastroea stiriaca by P Brugier[1861]
MM/9/2Letter from Charles Lyell, Kinnordy, to Susan Horner5 September 1849
RR/5/208Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'Theoretical considerations on the conditions under which the (drift) deposits containing the remains of extinct mammalia and flint implements were accumulated, and on their geological age. - On the Loess of the valleys of the South of England, and of the Somme and the Seine' by Joseph Prestwich8 June 1863
IM/002834Lyell, Sir Charlesnd
IM/002835Lyell, Sir Charlesnd
EC/1825/20Lyell, Sir Charles: certificate of election to the Royal Society
S/0017Sculpture bust of Lyell, Sir Charles
PT/67/8/25Plate, fossilised leaf of [Pecopteris lignitum?] by [Walter Hood Fitch][1861]
PT/67/8/22Plate, fossilised leaf of [Pecopteris lignitum?] by [Walter Hood Fitch][1861]
PT/67/8/26Plate, fossilised stems by [Walter Hood Fitch?][1861]
PT/67/8/6Plate, fossilised cones, seeds, roots, and branches from Sequoia couttsiae by W H [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
PT/67/8/13Plate, reformed specimens of Quercus lyelli, Ficus pengellii, and Ficus falconeri by [P] Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/10Plate, fossilised leaves of Lastraea bunburii, Ficus falconeri, and Quercus lyelli by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/7Paper, 'The lignites and clays of Bovey Tracey Devonshire' by William Pengelly[1861]
RR/3/184Referee's report by George Julius Poulett Scrope, on a paper 'On the formation of continuous tabular masses of stony lava on steep slopes; with remarks on the mode of origin of Mount Etna, and the theory of craters of elevation' by Charles Lyell29 July 1858
RR/4/7Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'Observations on the discovery in various localities of the remains of human art mixed with the bones of extinct races of animals' by Charles Babbage3 June 1859
RR/3/253Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'Astronomical experiment on the peak of Teneriffe, carried out under the sanction of the lords commissioners of the admiralty' by Charles Piazzi Smyth20 February 1858
PT/67/8/5Plate, fossilised rhizome and roots from Pecopteris lignitum and Pecopteris hookeri by W H [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
PT/67/8/14Plate, fossilised branches and flowers of Cinnamomum lanceolatum, Cinnamomum scheuchzeri, and Cinnamomum rossmässleri by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/27Plate, fossilised wood by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/8/19Plate, fossilised groupings of leaves by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/7/2Plate, portion of tunnel in pit near fault by unknown artist[1861]
RR/4/207Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'On the occurrence of flint-implements, associated with the remains of animals of extinct species in beds of a late geological period, in France at Amiens and Abbeville, and in England at Hoxne' by Joseph Prestwich3 June 1859
PT/67/8/28Plate, fossilised branches by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/7/1Manuscript, 'The lignites and clays of Bovey Tracey Devonshire' by William Pengelly[1861]
PT/67/8/18Plate, fossilised leaves and wood of Salix cinerea, Salix repens, and Betula nana by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/8/24Plate, fossilised leaf of [Pecopteris lignitum?] embedded in rock by [Walter Hood Fitch][1861]
PT/67/8/17Plate, fossilised fruit and beetles of Anona devonica, Anona cyclosperma, Pterocarya denticulata, Carpolithes websteri, Carpolithes boveyanus, Carpolithes nitens, Carpolithes exaratus, Carpolithes vinaceus, Carpolithes lividus, and Nymphaea doris by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/1Manuscript, 'The fossil flora of Bovey Tracey' by Oswald Heer[1861]
PT/67/8/23Plate, fossilised leaf of [Pecopteris lignitum?] by [Walter Hood Fitch][1861]
PT/67/7/4Plate, sections of the Bovey formation in plane of strike of the beds by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/8/2Plate, fossilised leaves and spines from Spaeria lignitum, Pecopteris lignitum, Cinnamomum scheuchzeri, and Palmacites daemonorops by unknown artist[1861]
PT/67/7/3Plate, section of the Bovey formation in plane of dip of the beds by unknown artist[1861]
MC/5/9Letter from Cha [Charles] Lyell, Winchester, to Col [Lieutenant-Colonel Edward] Sabine, Treasurer of the Royal Society3 March 1851
MC/5Volume 5 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1851-1858
PT/67/8/15Plate, fossilised bark, leaves, and flowers of Palmacites daemonorops, Phragmites oeningensis, Poacites, Quercus lyelli, Dryandroides banksiaefolia, Vaccinium acheronticum, Andromeda vacciniifolia, Andromeda reticulata, Cinnamomum scheuchzeri, Cinnamomum lanceolatum, Eugenia haeringiana, Celastrus pseudo-ilex, and Buprestites falconeri by P Brugier[1861]
MC/7/170Letter from Cha [Charles] Lyell, 53 Harley Street, to the Royal Society4 February 1865
MC/7Volume 7 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1864-1866
PT/67/8Paper, 'The fossil flora of Bovey Tracey' by Oswald Heer[1861]
PT/67/8/9Plate, fossilised spines of Palmacites daemonorops by W H [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
MC/10/106Letter from Ch [Charles] Lyell, 73 Harley Street, London, to the Royal Society8 May 1874
MC/10Volume 10 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal SocietyJuly 1873-1876
PT/67/8/12Plate, fossilised specimens of Daphnogene ungari, Ficus eucalyptoides, Laurus primigenia, Ficus pengellii, Dryandroides laevigata, Dryandroides hakeaefolia, Quercus lyelli, Echitonium cuspidatum, Phragmites oeningensis, and Sphaeria socialis by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/8Plate, 'Sequoia couttsiae' by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/7Plate, fossilised cones, leaves, shoots, and branches from Sequoia couttsiae, Amentum masculinum, Sequoia sempervirens, Glyptostrobus europeaus, Palmacites daemonorops, and Cyperites deperditus by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/16Plate, fossilised seeds and fruit of Gardenia wetzleri, Eucalyptus oceanica, Nyssa europaea, Nyssa laevigata, Nyssa striolata, Nyssa microsperma, Vitis britannica, Vitis hookeri, and Carpolithes scutellatus by P Brugier[1861]
PT/67/8/20Plate, fossilised leaves, seeds, and stems of Palmacites daemonorops, Pecopteris lignitum, and Lastraea stiriaca by W H [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
PT/67/8/4Plate, magnified fossils from Pecopteris lignitum and Lastroea stiriaca by Ch Th [Charles Thomas?] Gaudin and W [Walter Hood] Fitch[1861]
MC/11/200Letter from Leonard Lyell, 92 Onslow Gardens, to Sir Joseph [Dalton Hooker], [President of the Royal Society]17 April 1878
MC/11Volume 11 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1877-1879
AP/44/10/1Manuscript, 'The lignites and clays of Bovey Tracey, Devonshire [England]' by William Pengelly1861
AP/44/10Paper, 'The lignites and clays of Bovey Tracey, Devonshire [England]' by William Pengelly1861
MS/257/3/90Copy of a letter from Charles Lyell, 73 Harley Street to [William] Sharpey29 May 1871
MS/257/3/88Letter from Charles Lyell, 73 Harley Street to Edward Sabine9 May 1869
MS/257/3/89Letter from Charles Lyell, 73 Harley Street to Edward Sabine29 May 1871
RR/1/161Referee's report by Charles Lyell and Edward Forbes, on a paper 'Observations on some belemnites and other fossil remains of Cephalopoda, discovered by Mr. Reginald Neville Mantell, C. E. in the Oxford clay near Trowbridge, in Wiltshire' by Gideon Algernon MantellJuly 1848
RR/4/162Referee's report by Charles Lyell, on a paper 'Report to the Royal Society of the expedition into the Kingdom of Naples to investigate the circumstances of the earthquake of the 16th December 1857' by Robert Mallet5 June 1860
HSF/1/2/47Letter from Cha [Charles] Lyell, Drumkilbo, Meigle, to Sir John [Frederick William Herschel]7 September 1867
HS/11/417Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at Milan9 September 1828
HS/11/429Draft letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles LyellMay 1864
HS/11/449Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 73 Harley St.undated
HS/11/419Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.7 June 1836
HS/11/418Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.6 July 1835
HS/11/427Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.31 October 1862
HS/11/448Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel1840 or later
HS/11/423Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood15 November 1844
HS/11/446Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 73 Harley St.22 October 1866
HS/11/438Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood5 March 1865
HS/11/430Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood29 January 1865
HS/11/440Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.1 May 1865
HS/11/445Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 73 Harley St.11 July 1868
HS/11/437Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.4 March 1865
HS/11/436Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.21 February 1865
HS/11/424Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.5 July 1846
HS/11/425Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.22 August 1861
HS/11/435Draft letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood19 February 1865
HS/11/444Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 73 Harley St.6 July 1868
HS/11/421Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.31 January 1837
HS/11/441Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.28 November 1865
HS/11/428Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood13 April 1863
HS/11/434Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.16 February 1865
HS/11/426Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at Florence3 June 1862
HS/11/447Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 9 Crown Office Row, Templeundated
HS/11/432Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.11 February 1865
HS/11/433Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood15 February 1865
HS/24/220Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood13 July 1868
HS/24/168Incomplete copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell1 October 1866
HS/24/218Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood30 June 1868
HS/24/178Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood4 December 1866
HS/27/59Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at Kimmondy, Kirriemuir21 September 1843
HS/27/57Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood17 September 1843
HS/11/442Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.29 September 1866
HS/11/439Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.28 April 1865
HS/11/443Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.19 October 1866
HS/23/17Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood10 March 1848
HS/24/85Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood3 February 1865
HS/24/172Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood13 October 1866
HS/24/105Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood25 April 1865
HS/24/132Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood7 December 1865
HS/24/173Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood20 October 1866
HS/24/98Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood5 March 1865
HS/24/97Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood26 February 1865
HS/24/108Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood6 May 1865
HS/24/92Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood15 February 1865
HS/24/91Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood15 February 1865
HS/24/94Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood19 February 1865
HS/24/99Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood5 March 1865
HS/11/416Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 29 Norfolk St.14 May 1825
HS/11/415Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at Bedford St.9 May 1825
HS/24/89Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood6 February 1865
HS/24/95Copy of draft letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood19 February 1865
HS/11/431Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 53 Harley St.31 January 1865
HS/11/422Letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.24 May 1837
HS/11/420Incomplete letter, from Sir Charles Lyell to Sir John Herschel, dated at 16 Hart St.1 June 1836
HS/24/15Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Collingwood13 April 1863
HS/25/5/8Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Sir Charles Lyell, dated at Feldhausen12 June 1837
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