Sir Charles Lyell, English geologist, c 1870.

UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 09: Photogravure after a painting by Lowes Dickinson. Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) became interested in geology at a young age and had access to the large library owned by his father, Charles Lyell, an eminent botanist. After attending Oxford University, Lyell began a career as a lawyer, but soon turned to geology. In the 1820s he went on a series of expeditions which laid the foundations of his great work �Principles of Geology� in 1829. He was a great friend and supporter of Darwin�s (1809-1882) and in 1863 published �The Antiquity of Man�, presenting geological evidence of the antiquity of the human species. He was knighted in 1848 and created a baronet in 1864. From a collection of portraits of scientists published by Photographische Gesellschaft, Berlin, c 1910. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)