The Linnean Society aren’t the only ones celebrating a big anniversary this year. Over on the other side of Burlington House, the Geological Society of London are also chilling the champagne.
The Society is 200 this year, and they have plenty of events lined up. Reversing the customary direction of birthday gifts, they’ve also opened up the Lyell Collection for anyone to peruse. It’s a chunky archive of the Society’s geological literature, stretching from 1845 to 2007. Some 14,000 peer-reviewed articles and much else besides are available free of charge until June 18.
So dust off your digital rock hammer and see what gems you can uncover within the collection.
As part of my lab’s readig club, we read Lyell’s Principles of Geology Volumes 1 and 2, and I just want to call attention to Volume 2 for biologists and paleobiologists out there. Charles Darwin took this volume with him on the voyage of the Beagle, and it’s an interesting read. Lyell influenced Darwin’s perspective on not only with respect to earth processes but also on life and evolution. This book is very interesting for those who enjoy history of science.