Charles Lyell (1767–1849) was a Scottish botanist, known also as a translator of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

Life

Lyell was born on 7 March 1767, at Kinnordy, Forfarshire, Scotland. He was the eldest son of Charles Lyell of Kinnordy, Forfarshire, Scotland, and Mary Beale of West Looe; his sister Anne married Gilbert Heathcote.

Education

He was educated at

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent day school (with limited boarding school, boarding) for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by Rive ...

, the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1791, proceeding M.A. in 1794. A law student at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, Lyell also travelled. In 1796 he inherited the Kinnordy estate at

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...

. He gave up law as a profession, and married. From 1797 to 1825 Lyell lived at Bartley Lodge in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

; in 1813 he became a fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

. In 1826 he settled at Kinnordy, and he died there on 8 November 1849, leaving a library of works relating to his studies.

Works

Lyell concentrated on botany, especially the study of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es; several species of these plants bear his name, besides the genus ''Lyellia'' of

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

. He also contributed

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s to James Edward Smith's ''

English Botany English Botany was a significant botanical publication comprising 36 volumes, issued in 267 monthly parts between 1790 and 1814. Conceived, illustrated, edited, and published by James Sowerby, the work featured technical descriptions primarily pro ...

''. While not publishing, he corresponded with

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English natural history, naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his ...

and Brown. In 1835 Lyell published, at his own expense, a translation ''The Canzoniere of Dante ... including the poems of the Vita Nuova and Convito''. In 1842 another edition of ''The Vita Nuova and Convito'' was published in London, and in 1845 a collection of translations, ''The Lyrical Poems of Dante''. In 1847 he issued in Paris ''Notes to J. Hardouin's "Doutes proposées sur l'âge du Dante".''

Family

Lyell married in 1796 a daughter of Thomas Smith of Maker Hall,

Swaledale Swaledale is a valley in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Dales, which are part of the Pennines, and within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is named after the River Swale, which runs through it. Swaledale is the mo ...

, Yorkshire, by whom he had three sons and seven daughters. His wife died in 1850. His eldest son was

Sir Charles Lyell 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 ...

. A son Henry went into the army, and another, Thomas, into the navy.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyell, Charles 1767 births 1849 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge 19th-century Scottish botanists 19th-century Scottish translators People from Holborn Members of Lincoln's Inn