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Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was a naturalist who is most famous for his book The Origin of Species and the theory of evolution. -
Voyage of HMS Beagle
After graduating from Cambridge, Darwin was invited to participate as a naturalist aboard HMS Beagle. Beagle was tasked with conducting a mapping and coastal survey of South America. The nearly five-year expedition allowed Darwin to observe and collect specimens in many exotic locations, including Cape Verde, Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti, and New Zealand. The remoteness of these locations posed many questions about their biodiversity. -
Return to England and Beginning of Evolutionary Theory
Upon returning to England, Darwin set to work on these questions. In 1838, he was deeply influenced by Thomas Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population. The theory of the essay was that a major reason for disputes between humans was competition for limited resources. Applying this idea to his observations during the Beagle voyage, Darwin theorized that animals and plants that adapted best to their environment would survive, and those that adapted poorly would not. -
First Publication of On The Origin of Species
While this was not his last or only work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life is the one for which he became most famous. It was in this work that he consolidated his notes and presented his theory of evolution. Later editions would include the well-known phrase “survival of the fittest”. Charles Darwin and Evolution https://youtu.be/T0B6os-6uuc -
Legacy and Citation
Darwin’s theories forced a paradigm shift in questions about the origin of life and prompted new avenues of research in biology. He never advocated against theology or creationism but did worry about how his ideas would be received by the faithful. While now accepted as the scientific explanation for the origin of life, it continues to be a source of friction between scientism and religious fundamentalism. Francis, Keith. Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species. Greenwood Press, 2007.