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Charles Darwin - origin of species theory

In this small article you can read about: Charles Darwin, evidence of evolution and other

Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882), was an English biologist whose theories shook the scientific world. They also had great impact on the general public.

In 1859, he published a book called On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection. The book described his views that plants and animals were not just created exactly as they were found. His idea was that all living things reached their present form by gradual change, or evolution (see Evolution).

Charles Darwin evidence of evolution and Darwin origin of species theory were not new, other scientists having previously tried to put forward similar ideas. Darwin, however, put all his theories in such a clear way that the public was able to understand him much more easily. As a young man

Charles Darwin. The father of the theory of origin of species

Darwin studied both medicine and theology, but his real love was natural history. When he was 22, he was offered the post of naturalist aboard the survey ship HMS Beagle. He eagerly accepted. The voyage lasted five years and took Darwin around the world. During this voyage, Darwin was able to study a great number of animals and plants. And he gradually arrived at an idea which could explain how evolution works.

Germs of a rabbit (I), monkey (II) and the human (III) at different stages of ontogenesis: Darwin and origin of species, as Charles Darwin evidence of evolution (click to increase)

He realized that living things are always competing and struggling with each other to survive. He also realized that members of a species vary among themselves, and he reasoned that some would be better equipped to survive than others. The plants or animals that survive best, are the most likely ones to breed, and so their offspring will be equally well equipped for survival.

Human evolution: Darwin and origin of species, as evidence of evolution (click to increase)

We can take the giraffe's long neck to illustrate Darwin's ideas. The early giraffes must have had short necks like the related antelopes, but suppose a few had slightly longer necks than the others. Those with longer necks would benefit because they could reach more food. These giraffes would survive and breed.

Their offspring would also tend to have long necks and the whole population would gradually evolve long necks. Earlier naturalists could not explain how a giraffe grew a long neck, but Darwin showed that it was quite a natural process, and he called the process natural selection.

Darwin's theories on evolution became accepted by other world scientists. There was a considerable uproar, though, when he published his book called The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. This put forward his theories that man also is evolved from lower animals, and was not created as such. Even today, there are people who cannot accept his views on this subject.

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