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Darwin joins the Beagle voyage
While aboard the HMS Beagle, Darwin was able to explore and research most of the world. "Darwin spent most of his time (around 1200 days) on land studying plants, animals, fossils and geological formations. He made several important finds during the voyage including that of gigantic fossils of extinct mammals, then known only from a very few specimens. Darwin’s observations and work during the voyage established him as an eminent geologist. ("10 Major Accomplishments of Charles Darwin") -
On the Origin of Species is published
“Charles Darwin was a British naturalist who proposed the theory of biological evolution by natural selection, in which heritable traits that help organisms survive and reproduce become more common in a population over time” ("Darwin, Evolution, & Natural Selection" (article). This publication, explaining how evolution has taken place and how it works was such a great success that it's immortalized in history. Natural Selection Video -
The Descent of Man is published
Twelve years after publishing The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin published a second book entitled, The Descent of Man, which elaborates "on human evolution and sexual selection. Its inclusion of human beings in the natural order...which applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection, a form of biological adaptation distinct from, yet interconnected with, natural selection." (Darwin Correspondence Project) -
The Expression of the Emotions is published
In order to correlate expressions and emotions between man and animals, Darwin researched and conducted observable tests on friends and family to see if he could recognize facial expressions. Point being, humans and animals show emotions through strikingly similar behaviors. This belief was unpopular at the time, however, gained great traction as time went on within the sociologist and scientific communities.
