Austria -

" CHARLES DARWIN ~ THEORY OF EVOLUTION."

MNH ~ Miniature Sheet !

As the founder of modern evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is without doubt one of the most important scientists of all times.

His work had a fundamental influence on biology and geology, and was of major importance for subsequent ideas.

After an averagely successful school career and the abandonment of his university studies, the life of the young Charles Darwin was to change fundamentally on December 27, 1831. It was on this day that he became a member of a voyage of discovery that he later referred to as “by far the most important event in my life.”

 On HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy, Darwin spent five years travelling and exploring the world: the Cape Verde Islands, the Falkland Islands, the coast of South America, the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, South Africa, Mauritius, etc.

On his return he not only brought a Galapagos turtle with him (which incidentally only died in November 2006 at the age of 176), but a mass of drawings and findings that were to form the basis for his most important work, “The Origin of the Species”. This book was published in 1859, and sold out almost immediately.

Sceptics criticised his theory (and still do) as blasphemous, since, contrary to the Christian story of creation, Darwin argued that the various species were the consequence of adjustments to their habitat (“survival of the fittest”) and had thus developed in different directions.

The scientific world, however, quickly acknowledged the sensational and well founded conclusions. 

Year: 2009.

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