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Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was the English naturalist who proposed the
theory of evolution by Natural Selection.
Charles Darwin was born on
England.
On his father's side,
he was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin (who is himself famous as
a natural philosopher), and on his mother's, the grandson of
Josiah Wedgwood (famous for the industrialization of pottery manufacture).
Charles Darwin was educated at
Edinburgh and
Cambridge
Universities, and famously went on a 5 year (1831 to 1836) voyage with
HMS Beagle - while the ship surveyed and charted coasts, Darwin
investigated geology and collected natural history specimens.
HMS Beagle painted by Conrad Martens:
Over the next few years, Darwin gradually developed his theory
of Natural Selection.
Darwin however held back from publishing his theory, perhaps
noting the storm of controversy caused by a popular-science
book about Lamarkian evolution,
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation,
which was anonymously published (but written by a Scottish journalist,
Robert Chambers). Although, Darwin considered the science of
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation to be weak,
it did allow to further develop his own work, and anticipate
potential counter-arguments.
In 1856, through his friend, the eminent geologist
Sir Charles Lyell, Darwin became aware of the work of
Alfred Russel Wallace, who seemed to be thinking along similar
lines to Darwin. Lyell urged Darwin to publish in order to establish
priority, and Darwin began work on a short paper - which eventually
grew into a large book. In 1857, Darwin sent an abstract of his book
to the American botanist, Asa Grey.
In 1858, while Darwin's own book was still only half complete,
Darwin received a paper from Wallace describing Natural Selection.
As a result, although Darwin himself could not attend since his baby son
had died of scarlet fever,
Darwin's friends Lyell and Joseph Dalton Hooker, made a joint presentation
to the Linnean Society on
July 1st.
Finally, in 1859,
Darwin published
"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"
(usually abbreviated to simply
"On the Origin of Species "
which was an immediate success, but also caused a storm of controversy.
"On the Origin of Species"
soon became a staple scientific text, and was translated into
many different languages. Despite a number of illnesses,
Darwin continued to publish many other books through the
remainder his life.
Charles Darwin in 1868:
Darwin died in 1882, aged 71, and was given a state funeral
at
Westminister Abbey
(one of only five non-royals to ever receive this honor).
Even during his lifetime, many species and geographical places and locations
have been named after him, and this has continued through to the present
day. Many biographical and fictional works about Darwin's life have been
written, he has also been remembered on British currency
(including a special commemorative two pound coin issued in
2009)
and by Darwin Day, which marks the anniversary of his birth.
During Darwin's life,
the main opposition to his theory came from
religious people, and even today there
are many religious people who do not accept the idea of evolution or
Darwin's ideas in particular.
(although in
2008
the Church of England issued an apology stating
"for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still").
As far as the scientific community is concerned,
although the idea of evolution was quickly and widely accepted,
it took quite a few years until Darwin's mechanism, Natural Selection,
was generally accepted as the process by which evolution occurred - indeed
it was not until the development of the "Modern Evolutionary Synthesis"
(which combined Darwin's theory of Natural Selection with Mendelian genetics)
in the 1930s.
Today however, although there remains debate about various detailed technical
issues, Natural Selection and Mendelian genetics together form the basis
of our understanding of biology.
Caricature of Charles Darwin as an ape
(from The Hornet magazine 1871):
Related Information & Resources
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Crown Books for Young Readers
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Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species- Manufacturer: Crown Books for Young Readers
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- ISBN: 1984894919
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By Charles Darwin
Cambridge University Press
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The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: Volume 28, 1880- Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Details:- Hardcover
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By Charles Darwin
Independently published
Released: January 19th, 2019
Paperback (599 pages)
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On The Origin Of Species- Manufacturer: Independently published
- ISBN: 1794397639
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Details:- Paperback
- Number of Pages: 599
- Author: Charles Darwin
- Publication Date: January 19th, 2019
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By Charles Darwin
East India Publishing Company
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The Origin of Species- Manufacturer: East India Publishing Company
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- Publication Date: November 24th, 2020
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By Charles Darwin
Signet
Released: September 2nd, 2003
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- Number of Pages: 576
- Author: Charles Darwin
- Publication Date: September 2nd, 2003
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By Charles Darwin
W. W. Norton & Company
Released: September 17th, 1993
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The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809-1882- Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
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- Number of Pages: 224
- Author: Charles Darwin
- Publication Date: September 17th, 1993
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By Charles Darwin
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
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"
which was an immediate success, but also caused a storm of controversy.
