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Charles Darwin

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Born: February 11 1809

Died: 1818 04 18821882

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Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930s, and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery remains the foundation of biology, as it provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.

Darwin developed his interest in natural history while studying medicine at Edinburgh University, then theology at Cambridge. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell’s uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author. Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories.

His 1859 book On the Origin of Species established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

In recognition of Darwin’s pre-eminence, he was one of only five 19th century UK non-royal personages to be honoured by a state funeral, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

Her was the father of naturalist Francis Darwin, of astronomer George Darwin, and of politician, economist and eugenicist Leonard Darwin.

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Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

Books from Charles Darwin

The Origin of Species

Voyage of the Beagle

The Descent of Man

On Natural Selection

It Was Snowing Butterflies

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

The Origin of Species / The Voyage of the Beagle

From So Simple a Beginning: Voyage of the Beagle / Origin of Species / Descent of Man / Expression of Emotions in Man & Animals

Darwin

Türlerin Kökeni - Manga

Autobiografía Charles Darwin

Evolutionary Writings: Including the Autobiographies (World's Classics)

On the Origin of Species: Young Readers Edition

Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands: The Geology of the Voyage of the HMS Beagle, Part 2 (Works 8)

L'origine delle specie, L'origine dell'uomo e altri scritti sull'evoluzione

The Portable Darwin

The Essential Darwin: On the Origins of Species/The Descent of Man

The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species

The World's Greatest Books, Volume 15: Science

The Various Contrivances by Which Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects