Charles Darwin is commonly credited with being the father of the theory of evolution, which he first explained in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The concept that species may evolve overtime had been recognized in the early nineteenth century. But Darwin's great insight was to describe the mechanism that drives the : natural selection. The process of natural selection refers to the for plants and animals to pass desirable traits to their offspring, encouraging the development of species that are well suited to their environment. At the same time, organisms that do not inherit favorable traits tend not to prosper. In that way, the are said to be "naturally" selected.
Darwin lacked training as a naturalist. Indeed, his education was a one, acquired on his five-year voyage on the H. M. S. Beagle, during which he collected fossils and specimens of plants and animals and the differences he observed among living things.
Though he finalized his theory in 1844, many years before he published it, Darwin feared the storm it would cause in religious circles. The idea that humans evolved from primates traditional religious beliefs, which insisted that a divine being must be credited with the guiding role in human creation.
Thus Darwin was to keep quiet about his ideas. But he was upset in 1858 when he received a letter and draft of a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace, a young naturalist with whom Darwin had been corresponding.
Darwin was stunned to realize that Wallace was preparing to publish a theory of evolution that Darwin's own key ideas, including the primacy of natural selection. He faced a dilemma: if he hurried to publish his paper, he would be perceived as taking advantage of the work of another; but if he allowed Wallace to publish first, Darwin would his life's work just because he had been afraid to announce it.
The answer lay in a . Darwin posed the problem to two fellow scientists, who suggested that both men's papers be presented at an 1858 meeting of a London scientific society. The papers at first. But the following year, Darwin's book was a sensation, and evolution became associated with him rather than with Wallace. This was due in part to Wallace's own . He was willing to give Darwin most of the credit, even calling the theory Darwinism. Also, Wallace's reputation suffered later in his life when he pursued such as spiritualism and extraterrestrial life.
