Evogoosion By Briellen Feb 8, 1830 Thomas Malthus’s ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’ published Feb 8, 1830 Charles Lyell’s ‘Principles of Geology’ published Feb 10, 1831 Darwin sailed to South America and studied Galapagos Finches and their varying beak size and shape Feb 9, 1836 Charles Darwin returned to England from the Galapagos Islands Feb 10, 1859 Origin of the Species published by Darwin Feb 9, 1860 The Huxley-Wilberforce debate over Darwin’s theory of evolution Feb 8, 1951 DNA molecule discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick Feb 8, 1959 Scientists modified Darwin’s discoveries of natural selection to include genetics’ effect on adaptations.