Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin
Biography — Famous Biologists
Charles Lyell, (1797-1875)a famed geologist and paleontologist, namer of the Pliocene Epoch, befriended the young Charles Darwin and strongly influenced his thought. In particular, Darwin’s reading of Lyell’s Principles of Geology prompted him to think of evolution as a slow process in which small changes gradually accumulate over immense spans of time.
http://www.macroevolution.net/charles-lyell.html
A rather revolutionary theory at the time, considering the then ‘known’ age of the world. Six thousand years, was it?
Maybe God has a sense of humor? ;^)