Lyell: the past is the key to the present / Лайель: прошлое ключ к настоящему

Charles Lyell was appointed to the Chair of Geology at King's College London in February 1831, and proceeded to present a series of 12 lectures based on his recently published book Principles of Geology. According to his biographer, Leonard G. Wilson (1972), Lyell took a lot of trouble to prepare illustrations and demonstrations in support of his geological arguments. The lectures were open to the general public and attracted large audiences, including a number of his peers in the Geological Society, their wives and friends, who outnumbered the College students. Public interest in this newly emerging science was intense, fired by the wide readership of Principles of Geology which, remarkably, sold over 15 000 copies- far more than we can expect from this present volume! Lyell's lecture course began on 1 May 1832 and continued until 12 June, with audiences generally of around 100 but, on several occasions, rising to an estimated 300 (Wilson 1972). His lectures created a great deal of interest and were generally well received. However, the following year the College authorities decided not to allow women to attend any of the lectures other than the introduction because they were regarded as a distraction to the students. Lyell's audience dwindled to around 15. LyeU decided that he could spend his time more profitably in other ways and consequently resigned from his Chair in October 1833. Despite the brevity of his tenure of the post, Lyell established geology as a scientific study at King's College. The Lyell Chair was established and a succession of distinguished geology professors held the Chair at King's until 1985. In a major reorganization of the University of London, the King's College Geology Department joined with those from Bedford College and Chelsea College and moved to the new, purpose-built Queen's Building at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, with its campus on the western fringe of London, near Windsor. The Lyell Chair thus came to Royal Holloway where it is currently held by Prof. John Mather.