"He gave geology, as a science, a real scientific basis". Explore the life and work of pioneering geologist Charles Lyell FRS, as Richard Fortey sits down with Brian Cox for our People of Science series. In the early 19th century, the Earth was seen as something fixed, and history as something relatively short. Lyell helped to show that the Earth itself was not immutable, and by extending geological time he gave credibility to Darwin's theory of natural selection. See the full video here: https:

The late, great Richard Fortey tells Brian Cox why Charles Lyell's revolutionary 'Principles of Geology' laid the groundwork for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. #PeopleOfScience #BrianCox #Geology #Evolution #ScienceHistory | The Royal Society