In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin theorized that existing plant and animal species evolved from earlier living forms, providing an organizing principle for biology that cast serious doubt on the biblical story of Creation and launched a debate between science and religion that has continued into the twenty-first century.
Charles Darwin was born into a middle-class English family whose heritage included a deep interest in science. His grandfather Erasmus Darwin had earlier speculated about evolution, although, like the French theorist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the older Darwin attributed organic changes to the will of the organism seeking to adapt itself to its changing environment. Charles Darwin himself later claimed that his grandfather’s ideas had had little impact on him, and he disputed any comparison between his own work and Lamarck’s. It is known, however, that Darwin as a youth read his grandfather’s Zoönomia: Or, The Laws of Organic Life (1794-1796).
Henry
Darwin’s first interest was in becoming a physician like his father, but he found medical studies distasteful. Instead, he entered Cambridge University with the intention of becoming a clergyman, but once there he quickly developed his lifelong interest in the natural sciences and came into contact with some of the best naturalists of his day.
Editorial cartoon by John Leech (1817-1864) lampooning the notoriety that Charles Darwin was receiving after the publication of On the Origins of Species.
The most momentous development in Darwin’s life came when he traveled as the naturalist on the Royal Navy
The Beagle
Darwin was also familiar with the techniques used by animal breeders to raise new strains of animals with desirable characteristics. It was perhaps natural for him to ask whether any similar process occurred in nature. The answer occurred to him in 1838 after reading An Essay on the Principle of Population
Charles Darwin’s Voyage on the Beagle
Darwin was cautious. He first shared his theory with scientifically minded friends and performed various experiments to test different aspects of his theory. He did not rush into print but wrote a short account in 1842 for his own use. In 1844, he wrote a somewhat longer statement, but it also remained unpublished. In 1858, however, Darwin received a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace
Reactions to Darwin’s ideas were mixed. A number of church leaders saw the book as a challenge to the historical accuracy of the Bible.
Some scientists accepted Darwin’s theory quickly, others more slowly, and still others resisted it for years. The Anglican bishop Samuel Wilberforce
Although the evidence for evolution amassed by Darwin was voluminous and convincing to many, the theory as it first appeared was necessarily incomplete, as neither the mechanism of inheritance or of variation would be understood until the molecular biology of genes was fully investigated during the mid-twentieth century. Modern biologists, with access to far more fossil
Darwin’s theory in its modern form continues to prove a source of controversy between science and religion
-
Adler, Jerry. “Charles Darwin: Evolution of a Scientist.” Newsweek, November 29, 2005, 50-58. Exploration of Darwin’s personal struggle to reconcile his developing theories on evolution with his religious beliefs, with attention to modern challenges to Darwinism. -
Aydon, Cyril. Charles Darwin: The Naturalist Who Started a Scientific Revolution. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2002. Useful attempt to explain the theories described in On the Origin of the Species, and the subsequent debate over those ideas. Outlines the changing fortunes of Darwinian theories since Darwin first published them. -
Clark, Ronald W. The Survival of Charles Darwin: A Biography of a Man and an Idea. New York: Random House, 1984. Dual biography of Darwin and his theory that attempts to account for the survival of both Darwin’s scientific prestige and his theory in a field of immense opposition and competition. -
Darwin, Charles. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin and Selected Letters. Edited by Francis Darwin. New York: Dover, 1958. First published in 1892, this autobiography provides a frank and readable account of Darwin’s intellectual development, including his changing religious convictions during the course of his work. -
_______. From So Simple a Beginning: The Four Great Books of Charles Darwin. Edited by Edward O. Wilson. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006. First one-volume edition of Darwin’s most important books: Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). This edition includes an introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward O. Wilson, who also contributes a new introduction for each book and an afterword discussing evolutionary theory in the context of modern religious conservatism. Other features include a comprehensive index, reproductions of the original illustrations in Darwin’s books, and a map. -
Dawkins, Richard. River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life. New York: Basic Books, 1995. Concise presentation of evolutionary theory, taking into account the modern discoveries of molecular biology. -
Dennett, Daniel C. Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Explores applications of the notion of evolution by natural selection within and outside the biological realm. -
Eiseley, Loren. Darwin’s Century. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1958. An anthropologist, anatomist, and prolific writer, Eiseley provides a balanced picture of Darwin’s predecessors, allies, and opponents and the intellectual currents leading to the formation and acceptance of his theory. -
Hodge, Jonathan, and Gregory Radick, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Darwin. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Collection of essays examining Darwin’s major theories, the development of his thinking, and how his thought has influenced philosophical, religious, and social debate.
Saussure Publishes His Research on Plant Metabolism
Lamarck Publishes Zoological Philosophy
Scientists Study Remains of Giant Moas
Lyell Publishes Principles of Geology
Wallace’s Expeditions Give Rise to Biogeography
Neanderthal Skull Is Found in Germany
Archaeopteryx Lithographica Is Discovered
Spencer Introduces Principles of Social Darwinism
Mendel Proposes Laws of Heredity
Lartet Discovers the First Cro-Magnon Remains
Darwin Publishes The Descent of Man
Rediscovery of Mendel’s Hereditary Theory
Louis Agassiz; Georges Cuvier; Charles Darwin; Asa Gray; Ernst Haeckel; Thomas Henry Huxley.