Charles Lyell

Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, 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. The combination of evidence and eloquence in Principles convinced a wide range of readers of the significance of "deep time" for understanding the earth and environment.

14 November 1797

Born on the same birth day (14 November): Dominique de Villepin • Guillermo Moscoso • John Henry Barbee • Kathleen Hughes • Lawyer Milloy • Obie Trice • Shūhei Nomura • Tim Bowler • Vikram Gokhale

Born in the same month (November 1797): Gaetano Donizetti