-
The Beagle Voyage
Charles Darwin embarked on the HMS "Beagle" on December 27, 1831. This voyage circumnavigated the globe and lasted five years. On this voyage Darwin observed many things about the natural world that shaped his philosophies and ideas. He collected many fossils and observed thousands of species with varied characteristics that suited their environments. Darwin also noted that the land was changing, in some areas it was rising and in others it was falling. -
Galapagos Island's Finches
When Darwin landed on the Galapagos Islands on September 15, 1835 one things that stood out the most was the variety between the Finches on the Island. It wasn't until 1837 after Darwin had returned home that he began studying the Finches and realized that each island had a species of finch unique to it. He noted that each species had adapted to it environment to better survive. It was then he adopted the idea of transmutation, or evolution, to explain the differences between the species. -
"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"
Chalres Darwin published his first book "The Origin of Species" on November 24, 1859. The book was comprised of his notes, ideas, and research that he had been crafting since he first set out on the Beagle voyage. The book had generated various reactions. With the publication of the book Darwin had gone directly against the Church and hinted that humans were not created from God but rather evolved from another species. This began a scientific debate into the history of life. -
The Final Edition
The sixth and final edition to the "Origin of Species" was published on February 2, 1872. The final edition made a few minor changes that supported his theory of evolution. Although it took a few decades for his theory to be widely accepted by both the scientific and civilian populations it spawned many great ideas and relative theories in the early 20th century. Darwin's theory has since been the basis of theory for modern evolution and biology sciences.
