Portrait of the British geologist Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1792-1871. Murchison entered the army at 15 and served briefly in the Peninsular War. He married, and settled near Durham in order to pursue his interest in fox-hunting. After meeting Davy he became interested in science, especially geology. He made a series of arduous field trips, sometimes with other geologists such as Sedgwick or Lyell. In 1839 he produced his major work, 'The Silurian System'. He established the Devonian system in southwest England, and the Permian system in Russia. He always opposed Darwin's theory of evolution.