Charles Lyell

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Charles Lyell (Scottish geologist) was a Scottish geologist who developed the theory of uniformitarianism whereby what we see today, in geologic terms, was the result of slow gradual change over millions (or billions) of years.

He built on the work of James Hutton and others while being opposed to the catastrophic change (supporting a creationist viewpoint) work of Georges Cuvier.

The geologic meaning of "recent", from the Latin, was first used by Charles Lyell (Scottish geologist) 1833.

All formations, whether igneous or aqueous, which can be shown by any such proofs to be of a date posterior to the introduction of man, will be called Recent. Charles Lyell in Principles of Geology (1833).

Lyell's argument called "uniformitarianism" was that "the formation of Earth's crust took place through countless small changes occurring over vast periods of time, all according to known natural laws".

Book: Principles of Geology (1833)

Subtitle: An attempt to explain the former changes of the Earth's surface by reference to causes now in operation

Opposing viewpoint: Catastrophism

Uniformitarianism is the assumption that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe.