The genius of Darwin (left), the way in which he suddenly turned all of biology upside down in 1859 with the publication of the Origin of Species, can sometimes give the misleading impression that the theory of evolution sprang from his forehead fully formed without any precedent in scientific history. But as earlier chapters in this history have shown, the raw material for Darwin's theory had been known for decades. Geologists and paleontologists had made a compelling case that life had been on Earth for a long time, that it had changed over that time, and that many species had become extinct. At the same time, embryologists and other naturalists studying living animals in the early 1800s had discovered, sometimes unwittingly, much of the best evidence for Darwin's theory.
Pre-Darwinian ideas about evolution
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The complete works of Charles Darwin online
by pelonThis site currently contains more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images of both publications and handwritten manuscripts. There is also the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled. More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from secondary reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, published descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important related works for understanding Darwin's context.
Most of the editions provided here appear online for the first time such as the first editions of Journal of Researches [or Voyage of the Beagle] (1839), The descent of Man...
H.M.S. Beagle, the famous ship that
by garyd777Took Charles Darwin on his 1831-1836 voyage around the world, had a rather mundane history following her return to England.
She was transferred by the British Navy to the Customs and Excise Department and was used to catch smugglers along the southeast coast of England.
The Beagle was finally sold for scrap in 1870 after 50 years of service.
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by GodAlmightyCharles Darwin confesses evolution is a hoax: We received an E-mail in 2003-SEP which said that evolution is a hoax. Darwin just "thought it up" and presented it as truth even though he knew it had no evidence to back it up. It is doubtful that anyone reading Darwin's books (On the origin of species, The descent of man, The voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researchers, Charles Darwin's Zoology Notes and Specimen Lists from H.M.S. Beagle, and his autobiography) could come to this conclusion. His finding that evolution happened and happens through natural selection is based on a massive number of observations of nature
"In China We Can Criticize Darwin": Prelude
— Discovery Institute
In his February lecture at the Burke Museum of the University of Washington, Chen described many of the Chengjiang fossils and argued that their abrupt appearance in the early Cambrian was a problem for Darwinian evolution.