The rivalry between Charles Lyell and Roderick Murchison

The British Journal for the History of Science

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 1976, Pages 156-165

  Page, Leroy E ^a  

^a KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 84975966221     PISSN: 00070874     EISSN: 1474001X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0007087400014746     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Leonard G. Wilson, Charles Lyell. The years to 1841: the revolution in geology (New Haven and London, 1972), pp. 1–134, and personal communication; Archibald Geikie, Life of Sir Roderick I. Murchison (2 vols., London, 1875), i. 1–95, 262; ii. 159.
2. R.I. Murchison, Geological Society Anniversary address, 17 February 1832, in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin philosophical magazine, 2nd ser. xi (1832), 374–7.
3. Lyell to Murchison, 27 June 1835, Geological Society of London, and Lyell, Principles of geologyy vol. iii (London, 1833), preface.
4. Lyell to G. Babbage, no date [1832–3], British Library Add. MSS. 37187, f. 336. Murchison announced to the council that the Society had to thank Lyell for a new recruit, Mr Grote, who professed himself a convert because of Lyell's lectures. According to the Geological Society's records, however, George Grote did not become a member until 26 April 1843, and Arthur Grote was elected on 6 May 1846.
5. Lyell to Murchison, 29 June 1835, Geological Society of London.
6. Murchison to Lyell, no date [28? June 1835], Geological Society of London: I am wholly unconscious of having taken any such unbecoming steps, and if you value my friendship you will afford me the means of satisfying you that you have been on this point completely misinformed by whatever authority you learnt it from. Murchison insisted that he wanted no more recognition than Lyell's own statement in his letter that Murchison had contributed to the perfecting of an important part of the filling up of my plans.
7. Lyell, Principles of geology (4th edn., 4 vols., London, 1835), 1. pp. 7–8.
8. Lyell to C. Babbage, 4 December 1838 and 16 August 1839, British Library Add. MSS. 37191, ff. 56–7, 226–7.
9. R.I. Murchison, The Silurian system (2 vols., London, 1839), i. 545–6, 575–6. See also Murchison's Siluria (London, 1854), pp. 459–61.
10. Lyell, Principles of geology (6th edn., 3 vols., London, 1840), 3. 405–6. The same statement was in the eleventh edition (2 vols., London, 1872), ii. 621. It was apparently borrowed from Lyell's King's College and Royal Institution lectures of 1832–3.
11. See especially Horner to Murchison, 18 November 1855, Geological Society of London, advising Murchison on his reply to an attack by Sedgwick.
12. Council minutes, 19 May 1852, Geological Society of London.
13. Sedgwick to T. Sterry Hunt, 14 October 1872, Cambridge University Library, Sedgwick Papers, Add. 7652, III.B.4.
14. Murchison to A.C. Ramsay, 21 May and 27 December 1855, Imperial College, London Ramsay MSS. (quoted with the permission of the College Archivist); see also Lyell, A manual of elementary geology (5th edn., London, 1855), pp. 451–3.
15. In 1841–1842, 1845–6, 1852, and 1853.
16. Lyell to W.R. Grove, 11 June 1849, Royal Institution, London (quoted with permission).
17. Murchison's Diary: France, Scotland, Bohemia &c., 1861–62, p. 133, Geological Society of London.
18. Murchison to H. De La Beche, 3 April 1851, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, De La Beche MSS.
19. Comptes rendus, liv (1862), 149, Lyell 49, others 2.
20. Lyell to J.D. Hooker, 23 July 1862, Letters to J.D. Hooker, vol. xiv, no. 306, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
21. Comptes rendus, lvii. (1863), 1061, and lxvi (1868), 590. Murchison had a first-place nomination in 1868 but required two ballots to receive a majority over scattered opposition. He had been nominated eight times previously, beginning in 1854, whereas Lyell was never nominated.
22. Murchison to R. Peel, 12 November 1841, British Library Add. MSS. 40494, f. 331.
23. R. Peel to Murchison, 13 November 1841, British Library Add. MSS. 40494, f. 334. See also Murchison to R. Peel, 16 November 1841, British Library Add. MSS. 40495, f. 7.
24. Murchison to Lord Aberdeen, 9 December 1853, British Library Add. MSS. 43251, f. 263.
25. Lord Aberdeen to Murchison, 27 December 1853, British Library Add. MSS. 43251, f. 265.
26. Murchison to Lord Aberdeen, 19 May 1854, Lord Aberdeen to Murchison, 22 May 1854, British Library Add. MSS. 43253, ff. 122, 131.
27. According to W. Boyd Dawkins, Edinburgh review, cxlii (1875), 202, Lyell received his title from Palmerston's government in 1864 by the favour of Prince Albert, who highly appreciated his society'. Prince Albert, of course, died in 1861. Murchison received his title from Russell's government. See D. Brewster to Murchison, 29 December 1865, Geological Society of London, congratulating him, but stating that the government should have made him at least a baron (Lord Taradale).
28. Quarterly journal of the Geological Society, vi (1850), xxvii-lxvi; vii (1851), 25–76.
29. Murchison to J.D. Forbes, 15 August 1863, St Andrews University Library MSS.
30. Murchison to H. De La Beche, 3 April 1851, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, De La Beche MSS.
31. Edinburgh review, cxviii (1863), 254–302.
32. Murchison to J.D. Forbes, 5 July 1863, St Andrews University Library MSS.
33. Murchison to Lyell, 24 February 1865, Darwin-Lyell correspondence, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
34. Murchison to A. Geikie, 10 February 1865, Geological Society of London. See also Murchison to T. Rupert Jones, 16 August 1866, British Library Add. MSS. 45926, ff. 172–3: [Lyell] knows nothing of [the old rocks and] had no right to interfere with my views and labours.