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(1859) DARWIN PUBLISHES HIS ORIGIN OF SPECIES, Charles Robert Darwin
Whatever may be said of the credit due to other scientists for
investigation or discovery in natural selection, the preeminence of
Darwin in this field is undisputed. If of any scientific book it can be
said that its appearance was "epoch-making" it is true of Darwin's work
_On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the
Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life_. Not only did it
command the earnest attention of the scientific and literary world, but
it awakened the interest of thoughtful persons everywhere. Later
research and criticism have modified the effect of his conclusions and
led to new results, but the "Darwinian theory" or "Darwinism" still
holds and seems likely long to maintain a central place in the history
of modern scientific development.
Charles Robert Darwin was born at Shrewsbury, England, February 12,
1809. He was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin, an eminent physician,
naturalist, and poet, who in 1794-1796 published an important work
entitled _Zooenomia, or the Laws of Organic Life_.
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