GEOLOGIST

Charles Lyell

1797 - 1875

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Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known today for his association with Charles Darwin and as the author of Principles of Geology (1830–33), which presented to a wide public audience the idea that the earth was shaped by the same natural processes still in operation today, operating at similar intensities. The philosopher William Whewell dubbed this gradualistic view "uniformitarianism" and contrasted it with catastrophism, which had been championed by Georges Cuvier and was better accepted in Europe. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Charles Lyell has received more than 1,015,799 page views. His biography is available in 52 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 50 in 2019). Charles Lyell is the 5th most popular geologist (down from 4th in 2019), the 408th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 377th in 2019) and the most popular British Geologist.

Charles Lyell is most famous for his book Principles of Geology, in which he argued that the Earth was shaped by natural forces and not by catastrophes.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.0M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 65.89

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 52

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.68

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.44

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among GEOLOGISTS

Among geologists, Charles Lyell ranks 5 out of 90. Before him are Alfred Wegener, Milutin Milanković, Charles Francis Richter, and Nicolas Steno. After him are Inge Lehmann, Andrija Mohorovičić, Mary Anning, James Hutton, Eduard Suess, Friedrich Mohs, and Francis Beaufort.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1797, Charles Lyell ranks 12. Before him are Shamil, 3rd Imam of Dagestan, Adolphe Thiers, Hiroshige, Ghalib, Joseph Henry, and Maria Leopoldina of Austria. After him are Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, Alfred de Vigny, Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Paul Delaroche, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Ferdinand von Wrangel. Among people deceased in 1875, Charles Lyell ranks 7. Before him are Hans Christian Andersen, Andrew Johnson, Georges Bizet, Ferdinand I of Austria, Jean-François Millet, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. After him are Éliphas Lévi, Isaac Singer, John Edward Gray, Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, Moses Hess, and Guillaume Henri Dufour.

Others Born in 1797

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Others Deceased in 1875

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Charles Lyell ranks 408 out of 8,785. Before him are Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (1220), Jackie Stewart (1939), Arthur Eddington (1882), Peter Brook (1925), Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863), and Edgar the Peaceful (943). After him are Henry Moseley (1887), Bob Hoskins (1942), Anne Hathaway (1556), John Wesley (1703), Donald Winnicott (1896), and Robert Plant (1948).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among GEOLOGISTS In United Kingdom

Among geologists born in United Kingdom, Charles Lyell ranks 1. After him are Mary Anning (1799), James Hutton (1726), Eduard Suess (1831), William Smith (1769), Gideon Mantell (1790), William Buckland (1784), Adam Sedgwick (1785), Arthur Holmes (1890), John Phillips (1800), Henry Clifton Sorby (1826), and Joseph Thomson (1858).

British born Geologists

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