Well, here we are: The 200th birthday of naturalist Charles Robert Darwin, one of the most influential, and controversial, figures in modern history.
His 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species,” laid out his theory of natural selection, which showed that our existence can be explained by evolution, not the Bible. Yet despite incontrovertible proof (and gradual acceptance by the scientific community) that Darwin was essentially right, evolution vs. creationism remains the hottest of modern topics.
Here are some links to some of the more interesting stories that I’ve read in recent weeks on the man and his theories:
The UT’s Scott LaFee recently provided some little-known facts about Darwin. One that I think is somewhat widely known, but still interesting, is that he was born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln. The Los Angles Times had a fascinating story over the weekend about how human evolution continues.
The New York Times put together a thorough and illuminating special section. This piece is a good overview, and this essay by Carl Safina argues that Darwin gets too much credit for the theory of evolution. And this story explores the warm and funny side of the man who never seemed all that warm and funny.
Finally, I give you the special sections by National Geographic and Discover magazines.
And if just reading about Darwin isn’t enough for you, both University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University have put together months-long celebrations of Darwin with lots of events. This post will give you more information.