Darwin, Charles (1809–1882)

Charles Robert Darwin, Fellow of the Royal Society, was an English naturalist who realized—and presented compelling evidence—that all species of life have derived over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The debate on Darwin's theory of evolution is a unique case for observing some particular ways in which science is perceived and experienced in society. His works were best sellers in his English Victorian society, and his theory has been popularized by several generations of authors, including those who are alive and writing today. The fact that biological variation occurs became accepted by the scientific community and much of the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation ...