Photographed here in 1870, renowned English naturalist, biologist, and geologist Charles Darwin was behind some of the most influential and transformative theories regarding evolutionary biology and selective breeding. This theory is commonly known as natural selection or sometimes simply Darwinism. Darwin's primary conceit is that all life can be traced to a single ancestor,, a theory that proved controversial at the time, though it is now widely held as fact within the scientific community. In a joint piece authored with Alfred Russell Wallace, Darwin proposed that through selective breeding, species evolved and adapted to pass on favorable traits that were more likely to offer survival in their specific living conditions.

Darwin is considered one of the most influential people in history and was honored with a burial at Westminster Abbey. His education initially began with studies in the medical field, but his interest in the natural world took hold, and he studied marine invertebrates before enrolling in Cambridge's Christ College, where his passion for scientific studies of the natural world increased his interest in studying biology. However, his five-year journey on the HMS Beagle, a journey filled with challenges and discoveries, would cement Darwin's place as one of the most prominent geologists of the nineteenth century.

The vast diversity of the geological records Darwin collected was the basis for Darwin's theory, and in 1838, he devised his theory of natural selection. This portrait remains an enduring image of one of the great scientific minds whose influences continue to this day.

Photographed here in 1870, renowned English naturalist, biologist, and geologist Charles Darwin was behind some of the most influential and transformative theories regarding evolutionary biology and selective breeding. This theory is commonly known as natural selection or sometimes simply Darwinism. Darwin's primary conceit is that all life can be traced to a single ancestor,, a theory that proved controversial at the time, though it is now widely held as fact within the scientific community. In a joint piece authored with Alfred Russell Wallace, Darwin proposed that through selective breeding, species evolved and adapted to pass on favorable traits that were more likely to offer survival in their specific living conditions.

Darwin is considered one of the most influential people in history and was honored with a burial at Westminster Abbey. His education initially began with studies in the medical field, but his interest in the natural world took hold, and he studied marine invertebrates before enrolling in Cambridge's Christ College, where his passion for scientific studies of the natural world increased his interest in studying biology. However, his five-year journey on the HMS Beagle, a journey filled with challenges and discoveries, would cement Darwin's place as one of the most prominent geologists of the nineteenth century.

The vast diversity of the geological records Darwin collected was the basis for Darwin's theory, and in 1838, he devised his theory of natural selection. This portrait remains an enduring image of one of the great scientific minds whose influences continue to this day.