During the 1840s , Lyell travelled to the United States and Canada , and wrote two popular travel-and-geology books : '' Travels in North America '' ( 1845 ) and '' A Second Visit to the United States '' ( 1849 ) . After the Great Chicago Fire , Lyell was one of the first to donate books to help found the Chicago Public Library . In 1866 , he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Charles Lyell