On This Day in History: Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Darwin!

For today’s headline, EverythingIsHistory.com will focus on Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary theory.  Today is also Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday (born on the same day as Darwin), so happy birthday to the 16th president of the U.S. as well.  We will get back to regular “On This Day” programming on Friday, February 13th.

All the Lincoln for today

7 year-old Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who realized, and more importantly demonstrated that all species of life have evolved from common ancestors through a process he termed, natural selection.  Darwin was born February 12, 1809 (the same date as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln) in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England to Dr. Robert Darwin and Susannah Darwin.  His father, Robert Darwin was a wealthy high-society doctor and wanted his son to be a doctor also.  As a teenager, Charles was actually an apprentice to his father, but ultimately neglected medicine in favor of studying natural history.  Upon graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 1831, Charles Darwin would depart on the HMS Beagle, a ship sent to survey the coast of South America.  Initially meant to sail for 2 years, the voyage lasted for 5, during which time the ship traveled around the world and Darwin observed and collected different plant and animal species.

Alfred Russel Wallace

While Darwin is considered by many to be the father of modern evolutionary theory, he was not the first proponent of evolutionary theory, nor was he the only one in his lifetime.  As a matter of fact, Darwin’s mentor, Sir. Charles Lyell, urged him to write a short paper on his findings in 1856 in order to establish precedence.  However, Darwin was not comfortable with this approach and felt that in order to educate people, he would need to demonstrate that evolution did in fact exist, and his short paper soon turned into a big book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.  Ultimately, Darwin ended up publishing his initial findings jointly with his contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace (pictured), before finally publishing On the Origin of Species in 1859.  Charles Darwin’s theories on evolution form the basis of modern evolutionary theory.  His contributions to the studies of natural history and life sciences led him to be one of only five non-royal British citizens in the 19th century to receive a state funeral upon his death.

Although there is still some opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution today, the theory was generally accepted by the scientific community and even the general public during his lifetime.  Additionally, by the 1930s, Darwin’s theory of evolution became the primary theory of evolution taught in schools.  Darwin’s contributions to natural history and life sciences are as important to the respective fields as Gallileo’s observations were vital to the study of astronomy.

Caricature of Darwin

Darwin Trivia

• Charles Darwin did not coin the phrase “Survival of the Fittest”. That phrase was actually coined by English philosopher and political scientist Herbert Spencer in an attempt to draw parallels between his ideas on economics and Darwin’s theory of evolution. While Darwin may have actually used the term afterward as a metaphor for natural selection, he never used the term in a scientific sense. Furthermore, the idea known as “social Darwinism” which this phrase is based on, actually has no basis in the theory of evolution.
• Charles Darwin was actually a Christian who believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible up until his voyage on the Beagle.  Even after that, Darwin remained active in his local church, although he did not perceive the Bible to be literal, factual history and felt that all religions should thus be held in equal regard.
• Robert Darwin, Charles’ father, did not want his son to on the Beagle voyage and had to be convinced by Darwin’s uncle to let him go.
• Charles Darwin rose to pre-eminence at the same time that photography was invented and evolved.  Thus, Darwin had many portraits taken and his face became synonymous with the theory of evolution during his lifetime.

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