NEKOLIKO BRZIH ČINJENICA

Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" Is Published - HISTORY

Charles Darwin
February 12, 1809
April 19, 1882
Although Charles Darwin originally went to college to be a physician, he changed career paths when
he realized that he couldn't stomach the sight of blood.
Charles Darwin had a mountain named after him, Mount Darwin, in Tierra del Fuego for his 25th
birthday. The monumental gift was given by Captain FitzRoy.
Cambridge, University of Edinburgh
Shrewsbury, England
Downe, England

10 STVARI KOJE NISTE ZNALI O Č. DARWINU

10 Things You May Not Know About Charles Darwin - HISTORY

He wrote his first book “The Origin of Species” 24 years after visiting the Galapagos Islands.
(Naslovnicu Darwinove knjige zalijepiti u radnu svesku)
 Complete history of Evolution

History of Evolution | Theory of Evolution | BioExplorer.Net

HISTORIJAT EVOLUCIJSKIH IDEJA KOJI SLIJEDI ZALIJEPITI U RADNU SVESKU

During the 17th Century
During this period, the study of Paleontology came to place. This opened a lot of possibilities
in studying fossils and artifacts.

Nicolas Stenonus
1660 Nicholas Steno proposed that fossils once belonged to living creatures. He also claimed that
fossils are the key evidence for how life evolved on Earth over the past four billion years.
 During the 18th Century

Carolus Linnaeus
1758 Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne) introduced the idea of identifying, naming, describing and
classifying organisms (species). His hierarchical classification is based on the fact that species was the
smallest unit and each species (taxon) is under a higher category.

In the late 18th century, scientists George Leclerc and Comte de Buffon proposed that species could
change. This idea was a major break since it challenges the earlier belief that species could not change
because they were already perfect as they were created by a perfect creator. Buffon provided some
evidences of the said changes and modification. He also stated that various factors, including
migration, geographical isolation, influences of the environment, overpopulation, and struggle for
existence, could influence that change. Unfortunately, Buffon later claimed that he believed in special
creation and debunked his idea of the modifications of species.

James Hutton
1790s Two scientists named Abraham Werner and George Cuvier proposed the theory of
Catastrophism. This theory states that due to a great catastrophe, the planet Earth and the geological
events had formed rapidly and suddenly. This idea became widely accepted since it is related to
biblical events like Noah’s flood. However, James Hutton challenged the theory of Catastrophism. He
 argued that the Earth was transformed by gradual and slow changes. These changes may be tiny, but
with enough time, could produce great changes.

Thomas Malthus
1798 Thomas Malthus stated that human populations can double every 25 years. After that, population
would then gradually exceed food supply which will lead to starvation and war. Eventually, such
events will reduce the population.

Erasmus Darwin
In the early 19th century Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin’s grandfather) suggested the possibility
of a common ancestor based on the changes undergone by organisms during development and the
presence of vestigial structures. While he proposed that species do change over time, he did not
provide any mechanism to explain his idea.

1801 Jean Baptiste de Lamarck developed one of the first theories about how species change.
He stated that more complex organisms had “evolved” from pre-existing less complex
organisms.

Giraffes
Lamarck’s fame rose when he introduced the idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics to
explain the length of the giraffe neck. According to that view, the long necks of giraffes were acquired
from their ancestors (previously had shorter necks) who continually stretched their necks in order to
 reach food that are located in high trees. This continuous use of stretching the necks resulted to their
development of longer necks, which was somehow passed on to their offspring.

1830 A scientist named Charles Lyell published his theory of Uniformitarianism, which was inspired
by James Hutton’s previous idea of gradual changes. This theory states that the processes that alter the
Earth are uniform through time.
1859 Charles Darwin, after his voyage and spending time in the Galapagos Island, proposed his theory
of evolution and adaptation. The theory stated that:
[1] – All kinds of organisms adapt to their environment.
[2] – All organisms have variable traits.
[3] – Organisms tend to over reproduce (this idea was based on Thomas Malthus study of how
populations tended to grow geometrically until there is a limit in their population).
[4] – The idea of natural selection which is more commonly referred to as “survival of the
fittest”.