Bull Tiger Biographical Library · Giant Hundred -- Darwin

Author: Li Zunyu, Xu Ziran, Xiao Ge edited
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 1998-10-01
Features: We are delighted to recommend the "Giant Biographies Series" to young friends. At the turn of the century, having such a fine series accompany you is a joy in wisdom. We believe that from the footsteps of these giants and masters, you can learn how to properly handle success and failure, comfort and hardship, joy and pain, smoothness and tribulation, understand how to face life, how to learn to be a person, how to pursue knowledge, how to shape oneself, and how to shape the future.
Principal of Peking University, Zhao Yulin Secretary of the Party Committee, Dong Lingsheng
Every great figure with global influence contains a deeply moving story. Their rich life experience and struggles, their spirit of perseverance and elements of success, their pursuit of excellence and ability to seize opportunities, undoubtedly have a great inspirational and educational role for today's youth.
Principal of Tsinghua University, Zhao Qinggang
Giants are the elite of humanity, they have made outstanding contributions to the progress and civilization of human society, their spirit of struggle and superhuman achievements are deeply admired, becoming models for people to learn from. Giants are human, not gods, they come from ordinary people but are above ordinary people. High ideals, the belief of seeking happiness for the motherland and humanity, are the driving force for their unremitting efforts and fearlessness of difficulties.
Principal of Tianjin Nankai Middle School, Kang Xiuyan
To carefully read this series of books is like seeing their appearance, speech, and actions, feeling their ideals, beliefs, ambitions, and moral character, which will help you learn to be a person, learn academic knowledge, and learn to do a career.
Principal of Fudan University, Cao Tianren
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1909, in Shrewsbury, England. His grandfather and father were both local physicians, and the family hoped he would inherit the profession. At the age of 16, he was sent to the University of Edinburgh by his father to study medicine. However, Darwin had always loved nature since childhood, especially hunting, collecting minerals, and plant and animal specimens. Even after entering medical school, he still frequently went into the field to collect specimens. His father considered him "idle" and "unproductive," and in anger, sent him to Cambridge University in 1828 to study theology, hoping he would become a "noble clergyman." Darwin was deeply annoyed by the creationism and other fallacies taught in the theological college, but he still spent most of his time listening to natural science lectures and self-studying numerous natural science books. He was passionate about collecting insects and other specimens, filled with a strong interest in the mysterious natural world.
One day in 1828, in a forest outside London, a university student was walking around an old tree. Suddenly, he noticed insects moving under the peeling bark and quickly peeled it off, discovering two strange beetles crawling rapidly. He immediately grabbed them with both hands and excitedly examined them. At that moment, another beetle leaped out from the bark, and the student, unprepared, quickly hid the one in his hand in his mouth and reached for a third. Focusing on the strange beetles in his hands, he proudly admired them, forgetting the one in his mouth. The beetle in his mouth couldn’t stand it and released a pungent venom, stinging his tongue painfully. He then remembered the beetle in his mouth, opened his mouth, and spat it into his hand. Ignoring the pain in his mouth, he proudly walked to Cambridge University. This university student was Charles Darwin. Later, to commemorate his first discovery of this type of beetle, it was named "Darwin."
In 1831, Darwin graduated from Cambridge University. He gave up the lucrative clergy career and remained devoted to his natural science research. That same year, in December, the British government organized a global expedition on the HMS Beagle, and after being recommended, Darwin embarked as a "naturalist" at his own expense, beginning a long and arduous global expedition.
Whenever Darwin arrived at a new location, he conducted thorough research, interviewed local residents, sometimes hiring them as guides, and climbed mountains and rivers to collect mineral and plant specimens, dig for fossils, and discover many new species not previously recorded. He collected grain and rock specimens during the day and meticulously recorded his findings at night.
On January 1, 1832, the HMS Beagle docked at Santiago Island in the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic. The crew went to examine the ocean currents, while Darwin and his assistant, with backpacks and geological hammers, climbed the mountain to collect rock specimens. During the investigation, Darwin, based on the changes in species, pondered a question all day: how were the strange flowers and trees in nature, and all living things, actually produced? Why did they change so much? What was the connection between them? These questions became increasingly profound in his mind, gradually leading him to doubt the theory of creation and the theory of species immutability.
By late February 1832, the HMS Beagle reached Brazil, and Darwin went ashore to investigate. He proposed to the captain that he climb the Andes Mountains in South America. When they reached an altitude of over 4,000 meters, Darwin unexpectedly discovered shell fossils on the summit. He was greatly surprised and thought, "How could shells from the seabed end up on a mountain?" After deep reflection, he finally understood the concept of tectonic uplift.
Darwin’s thoughts churned, and his understanding of his hypothesis deepened: "Species are not unchanging but vary in response to different objective conditions!" Later, Darwin accompanied the ship across the Pacific, passing through Australia, across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to England in October 1836. During the five-year global expedition, Darwin accumulated a vast amount of data. Upon returning, he organized this data, conducted further research, and consulted numerous books to find evidence for his theory of biological evolution. In 1842, he wrote a preliminary outline of "On the Origin of Species."
In 1859, after 20 years of research, Darwin’s scientific masterpiece, "On the Origin of Species," was finally published. In this book, Darwin clearly proposed the theory of "evolution," explaining that species are constantly changing, evolving from lower to higher, and from simpler to more complex. The publication of this work established biology on a completely scientific foundation, overthrowing the theories of creationism and species immutability with a new evolutionary perspective. "On the Origin of Species" is a representative work of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, marking the formal establishment of the theory of evolution. The publication of "On the Origin of Species" caused a sensation in Europe and the entire world. It severely shook the foundation of theocracy, and both the reactionary church and the feudal court officials flew into a rage, attacking Darwin’s theory as "blasphemous" and "offending the divine right of kings," undermining human dignity.
In contrast, scholars like T.H. Huxley actively promoted and defended Darwinism, pointing out that the theory of evolution broke the chains of people’s minds, liberating them from the shackles of religious superstition.
Immediately after, Darwin began writing his second major work, "On the Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication," presenting undeniable facts and rigorous scientific arguments to further elaborate his evolutionary theory. He proposed important points such as the variation and inheritance of species, the struggle for survival and natural selection of organisms, and the book was published soon after.
In his later years, despite his frail health, Darwin persevered with astonishing determination in his scientific research and writing, publishing many works such as "The Descent of Man." Darwin himself considered his scientific writings to be "his main joy and the only work of his life." He also achieved several important scientific results during his travels, such as his famous "Diary of a Naturalist," "Geology of the Beagle," and "Zoology of the Beagle." Among his works, "On the Origin of Species" holds special historical significance, demonstrating the gradual development of Darwin’s evolutionary theory and the theory of natural selection. The publication of "On the Origin of Species" was a major event of global significance, as it marked a profound change in the views of most educated people in the 19th century regarding the biological world and humanity’s place within it. The publication of "On the Origin of Species" also sparked fierce attacks on Darwin’s theory by creationists and scientists with teleological tendencies (who were the majority), leading to corresponding struggles in defense of Darwinism. Apart from Darwin himself, progressive naturalists also actively participated in this struggle, becoming fervent supporters of Darwinism everywhere.
On April 19, 1882, this great scientist passed away due to illness, and his remains were buried next to Newton’s grave, as a gesture of deep respect for him.