Lyell's most important specific work was in the field of stratigraphy.

Uniformitarianism was formulated by Scottish naturalists in the late 18th century, starting with the work of the geologist James Hutton, which was refined by John Playfair and popularised by Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology in 1830.

Intrigued by the ideas of gradual formation of landscapes set out in Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, he wrote to Lyell on 20 February 1836 praising the book as a work which would bring " a complete revolution in subject, by altering entirely the point of view in which it must thenceforward be contemplated.

The book was inspired by Charles Lyell's Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man of 1863 ( and probably also influenced by Lyell's earlier ground-breaking work " Principles Of Geology ", published 1830 – 33 ).

Before they left England FitzRoy gave Darwin a copy of the first volume of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, the subject which would be his primary work.

In assessing Huxley's work, the content of Charles Lyell's The Antiquity of Man should be considered.

The book drew sharp criticism from two of Lyell's younger colleagues – paleontologist Hugh Falconer and archaeologist John Lubbock – who felt that Lyell had used their work too freely and acknowledged it too sparingly.

Wallace was suffering " ever-increasing anxiety " over funds, and Arabella Buckley, Lyell's old secretary, pleaded with Darwin to help him find " some modest work ".

Lyell's interpretation of geologic change as the steady accumulation of minute changes over enormously long spans of time was a powerful influence on the young Charles Darwin.

Lyell asked Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle, to search for erratic boulders on the survey voyage of the Beagle, and just before it set out FitzRoy gave Darwin Volume 1 of the first edition of Lyell's Principles.

Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man brought together Lyell's views on three key themes from the geology of the Quaternary Period of Earth history: glaciers, evolution, and the age of the human race.

The work's subtitle was " An attempt to explain the former changes of the Earth's surface by reference to causes now in operation ", and this explains Lyell's impact on science.

Lyell's data on stratigraphy were important because Darwin thought that populations of an organism changed slowly, requiring " geologic time ".

Lyell's books had widespread influence, not least on the up and coming young geologist Charles Darwin who read them with enthusiasm during his voyage on the Beagle, and has been described as Lyell's first disciple.

In a comment on the arguments of the 1830s, William Whewell coined the term uniformitarianism to describe Lyell's version of the ideas, contrasted with the catastrophism of those who supported the early 19th century concept that geological ages recorded a series of catastrophes followed by repopulation by a new range of species.

Charles Darwin's early interest in nature led him on a five-year voyage on which established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.

Commenting on Lyell's retirement as an MP, Conservative Party chairman Michael Ancram said:

Modern geology relies on a number of established principles, one of the most important of which is Charles Lyell's principle of uniformitarianism.

On the Galápagos Islands he remained convinced by Lyell's idea of species spreading from " centres of creation ", and assumed that species had spread from the mainland rather than originating on these geologically recent volcanic islands.

FitzRoy too had seen geological features as supporting Lyell's timescale, and on his return to England extracts from his diary stressing the immense age of the Patagonian raised beaches were read to the Royal Geographical Society, but he married a very religious lady and in his Narrative of the voyage added a supplement regretting having " remarked to a friend " that these vast plains " could never have been effected by a forty days ' flood ", remarks he ascribed to his own " turn of mind and ignorance of scripture " during the voyage.

On 27 April, Captain The Lord Lyell's company took part in the attack on Djebel Bou Aoukaz and were coming under fire from an enemy post, consisting of an 88 mm gun and heavy machine-gun in two separate pits, which was holding the company's advance up.

Sensitive to Lyell's fears on this, Darwin responded that " I think I shall avoid the whole subject, as so surrounded with prejudices, though I fully admit that it is the highest & most interesting problem for the naturalist ".

Then on his voyage on the Beagle Darwin became convinced by Charles Lyell's uniformitarian theory of gradual geological process, and puzzled over how various theories of creation fitted the evidence he saw.

He also plunged into writing a book on South American Geology, putting his and Lyell's ideas forward against the cataclysmic explanation of mountain formation Alcide d ' Orbigny was promoting in a multi-volume account of the continent begun two years previously.

To supervise his collections Darwin had to return to London, and on Lyell's advice he planned to arrive on Friday 3 March 1837, in time for one of Charles Babbage's Saturday parties, talking shops about the latest developments " brilliantly attended by fashionable ladies, as well as literary and scientific gents " and " a good mixture of pretty women ", bankers and politicians, where Babbage promoted such projects as his mechanical computer.

Lyell's geological interests ranged from volcanoes and geological dynamics through stratigraphy, paleontology, and glaciology to topics that would now be classified as prehistoric archaeology and paleoanthropology.

" The two terms, uniformitarianism and catastrophism, were both coined by William Whewell ; in 1866 R. Grove suggested the simpler term continuity for Lyell's view, but the old terms persisted.

Charles Darwin was influenced by Lyell's Principles of Geology, which explained both uniformitarian methodology and theory.

When the Beagle made its first stop ashore at St Jago, Darwin found rock formations which seen " through Lyell's eyes " gave him a revolutionary insight into the geological history of the island, an insight he applied throughout his travels.

In geology Darwin was very much Lyell's disciple, and brought back observations and his own original theorising, including ideas about the formation of atolls, which supported Lyell's uniformitarianism.

Lyell's vivid writing fired the public imagination, inspiring Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth and Louis Figuier's 1867 second edition of La Terre avant le déluge (" Earth before the Flood "), which included dramatic illustrations of savage men and women wearing animal skins and wielding stone axes, in place of the Garden of Eden shown in the 1863 edition.

Lyell's book also influenced Louis Figuier's 1867 second edition of La Terre avant le déluge which included dramatic illustrations of savage men and women wearing animal skins and wielding stone axes, in place of the Garden of Eden shown in the 1863 edition.

He saw landforms as supporting Lyell's Uniformitarianism which explained features as the outcome of a gradual process over huge periods of time, and quickly showed a gift for theorising about the geology he was examining.

Lyell's immediate response urged Darwin to publish his own ideas, and in his reply of 25 June Darwin agreed that he could point to his own Essay of 1844 which Hooker had read in 1847, and a letter to Asa Gray of 1857 showing that he was still developing the ideas, " so that I could most truly say and prove that I take nothing from Wallace.

Over dinner Lyell listened eagerly to Darwin's stories ( which supported Lyell's uniformitarianism ) and introduced him to Richard Owen and William Broderip, Tories who had just been involved in voting Grant out of a position at the Zoological Society.

For this reason, despite its merits, Lyell's book did not anticipate the crucial arguments which Huxley presented.

Quite strong remarks: no doubt Darwin resented Lyell's repeated suggestion that he owed a lot to Lamarck, whom he ( Darwin ) had always specifically rejected.

Over time there was a convergence in views, but Lyell's description of the development of geological ideas led to wide belief that uniformitarianism had triumphed.

Darwin borrowed Charles Lyell's argument in Principles of Geology that the record is extremely imperfect as fossilisation is a very rare occurrence, spread over vast periods of time ; since few areas had been geologically explored, there could only be fragmentary knowledge of geological formations, and fossil collections were very poor.

Before they left England FitzRoy gave Darwin a copy of the first volume of Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, a book the captain had read that explained terrestrial features as the outcome of a gradual process taking place over extremely long periods.

Even back in the early 18th century, Plutonists had argued for an ancient Earth, but the full impact of the depth of time involved in the Pre-Adamitic period was not commonly accepted until uniformitarianism as presented in Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology of 1830.

Lyell's second volume explained extinctions as a " succession of deaths " due to changed circumstances with new species then being created, but Darwin found giant fossils of extinct mammals with no geological signs of a " diluvial debacle " or environmental change, and so rejected Lyell's explanation in favour of Giovanni Battista Brocchi's idea that species had somehow aged and died out.

Here he renewed his interest in geology ( Haliday, as did most educated people, had a well read copy of Charles Lyell's 3 volume book, Principles of Geology, in published between 1830 and 1833 ).