Events in Evolutionary Theory

By TheKayl

  • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck died

    Lamark supported a theory of evolution that included the idea that traits could be acquired and then passed along to offspring(hereditary).

  • Charles Leaves on the Eagle

    After Darwin’s interview with Captain Fitzroy, he was given permission to become the naturalist of the HMS Eagle. On December 27, Darwin left England while aboard the Eagle.

  • Ernst Haeckel was born

    Ernst Haeckel was a zoologist that was born in Germany. His work on evolution influenced and inspired many of the Nazi’s racist theories.

  • Charles Darwin Lands On the Galapagos Island

    Charles Darwin enters the Galapagos Islands where he studies various animals to further develop his theory of natural selection.

  • Alfred Russel Wallace’s Monograph

    Alfred Russel Wallace created a monograph that summarized all of Darwin’s ideas on evolution. This inspired Darwin to write and publish his book called The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

  • Charles publishes his first book about natural selection

    Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection which included the information and theories he learned from the Galapagos Island. 1250 copies were sold in the first day.

  • Debate on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

    Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of the Church of England had a famous debate on Darwin’s theories on evolution.

  • Second Edition of Darwin’s Book

    The book written by Charles Darwin called The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection went into its second edition. It sold 3,000 copies and taught many more about evolution and natural selection.

  • Life of Erasmus Darwin

    Charles Darwin published Life of Erasmus Darwin, a book about his grandfather.

  • Tennessee Prohibits the Teaching of Evolution

    Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed a law that would ban public schools from teaching about evolution. This would lead to the famous Scopes Monkey Trial as John Scopes had broken the law.

  • Scopes Monkey Trial

    In Dayton, Tennessee, the famous Scopes Monkey Trial began. This was due to the fact that John Scopes had broken the prohibition on teaching evolution in public schools.

  • The Encyclical Humani Generis

    Pope Pius XII created the encyclical Humani Generis which spoke against any evolutionary theories that may have threatened the Roman Catholic faith. However, it allowed any evolutionary theories that did not go against Christianity.

  • Epperson v. Arkansas

    The Supreme Court ruled Arkansas’s law that prohibited the teaching of evolution as unconstitutional. Their reason was that Arkansas created the law based on a literal reading of Genesis and not science.

  • McClean v. Arkansas

    Arkansas’ law that required equal treatment of creation science with evolution was deemed unconstitutional.

  • Edwards v. Aguillard

    The Supreme Court invalidated Louisiana's “Creationism Act” due to its violation of the Establishment Clause.

  • Webster v. New Lenox

    The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruler that school boards would now have the right to ban the teaching or creationism. This was due to the fact that lessons dealing with creationism would advocate for religion.