Great scientists who revealed the origin of species: Darwin

Author: Li Guoxiu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features: This book is one of the "Top Ten Thinkers of the Millennium Series." At the end of the 20th century, the BBC held an online poll to select the "Top Ten Thinkers of the Millennium," and Charles Darwin, the fourth-ranked thinker and a renowned biologist, was introduced in this book. February 12, 1809, was the birthday of Darwin, the great British biologist and founder of the theory of evolution. Every year on this day, people around the world hold activities in his honor. Darwin was born into a family of doctors in Shropshire, Western England, where generations of his ancestors were physicians. His father, Robert Darwin, sent him to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine, hoping he would become a famous doctor and inherit the family business. However, Darwin had no interest in medicine and instead developed a deep fascination with natural history and mineralogy. In 1831, at the recommendation of Professor Adam Sedgwick, young Darwin had the opportunity to join the five-year global expedition on HMS Beagle as a naturalist. This five-year journey, as Darwin himself said, was a pivotal moment in his life. During these years, he traveled extensively, exploring mountains and dense forests. The extraordinary flora, fauna, and bizarre variations in nature captivated his entire being, leading him to question the biblical doctrine that "all creatures were created by God and that species are unchanging." Eventually, he proposed the bold hypothesis of "gradual species change," rejecting the notion of species fixity. To avoid bias and gather more evidence for his theory, he became so engrossed in his work that he even forgot about getting married. He meticulously documented various variations observed in nature and extensively collected data on domesticated animals, while also reviewing countless books and resources. In the end, he published his groundbreaking masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, on November 24, 1859. Marx once said that this book also provided a "scientific basis" for the historical class struggle. Darwin was an outstanding scientist whose revolutionary contributions paved the way for new horizons in the development of human scientific endeavors. Therefore, after his death on April 19, 1882, to express their admiration, he was laid to rest beside another figure in science, Isaac Newton, in the highest honor a natural scientist could receive.