Charles Darwin

In fact it is clear that Alfred Russel Wallace also had similar theories on natural selection. Even today there are some who believe that Darwin somehow stole the theory of natural selection from others.

At http://www3.mistral.co.uk/bradburyac/dar... Andrew J Bradbury goes into great depth to show that Darwin was not the only scientist working on the natural selection theory. There is a great deal of detail here for those interested.

At http://ftp.update.uu.se/~fbendz/nogod/cd... Fredrik Bendz attempts to show that while Wallace came up with the theory of natural selection independently of Darwin it is Darwin's great depth of study and experiment that secures the theory's acceptance. This seems to be accepted by Wallace. You can read the background to the 1858 joint paper submitted to the Linnean Society at:

http://www.inform.umd.edu/PBIO/darwin/da...

On his death on 19th April 1882 Darwin was the major scientific figure of his day. The self taught scientist from Shrewsbury was buried in Westminster Abbey. The obituary notes from the Proceedings of the Royal Society can be read at:

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE2/Darw...

Today

The controversy surrounding Darwin's ideas still remain today. The article in a recent edition of the New Scientist shows that the clash between science and theology still continues. Read the article at:

http://www.newscientist.co.uk/features/f...

A new Darwin Building, which will be part of London's Natural History Museum, will open soon containing millions of zoological specimens. Stones from Darwin's house in Downe were placed on the roof as part of a "topping out" ceremony recently.

In Shrewsbury there is a move to have Darwin House in the Mount brought back under public control and refurbished.

Darwin not only changed the world of science but, more than any scientist before or since, changed how we view ourselves.

John Neill Copyright 2000

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