CHARLES DARWIN Naturalist Charles Darwin studied aspects such as botany, geology, and zoology He actually discovered two main ideas relating to evolution, and is often still referenced for creating our modern day theory. However, he did have some help and gained information from other scientists, especially from his grandfather Erasmus Darwin. Before he was a naturalist, Darwin was not always so successful. His father R.W. was a medical doctor, and his grandfather Erasmus Darwin was a botanist. Darwin's father had high hopes that his son would become a doctor as well, but Darwin was not comfortable around large amounts of blood or operations. Darwin also tried to become a parson, but found he loved to study the environment more and preferred nature over politics. Once graduating college with a bachelor of arts degree during 1831, it was suggested by Darwin's botany professor- John Stevens Henslow- that he take up a naturalist career on a voyage across the world. This was also the exact one where Darwin found all his discoveries. During 1831, he sailed on the HMS Beagle for 5 years, all across the world, collecting species of plants, birds, and ancient fossils for his studies. One of his stops was the Galapagos Islands, where he finally succeeded in collecting all the information he needed. Through these islands, he studied 13 different varieties of finches, as well as many other animal species. Darwin noticed how the finches in particular were all obviously related, but different from one specific variety on the mainland. The finches differed mostly in feather colour and beak size. For example, as shown on the right, some finches with small and thin beaks were eating insects, while some finches with larger and wider beaks were eating seeds. Through his journey, Darwin formulated his main discovery: organisms could change. Darwin included two main points. The first was evolution, which he called "Descent with Modification." He then developed it's mechanism, which he called natural selection. In our modern day, his theory is known as "Gradualism." This theory was not fully announced until 1859: 23 years after he took his voyage during 1836. He also published "The Origin of The Species" during 1859, resulting in the community under science convinced and interested. ERASMUS DARWIN Erasmus was actually Charles Darwin's grandfather, and while he himself did not announce his ideas to a great audience, Darwin did strongly influence and aid in his grandson's discoveries. However, he did unfortunately pass away before Charles Darwin was even born. As a physician, botanist, and poet, Darwin believed organisms could evolve and adapt over time, including the human species, but did not truly know himself how this could occur. Darwin first started out majoring in classics and mathematics in college, followed by three years of medical school in university. He eventually founded his own medical practice which ran quite well and flourished in the community. His first wife, Mary Howard, did pass away during 1770, while two out of his three sons died as well. During 1770 was when he first became intrigued by botany, since medicine and invention were two of his earlier interests. He soon began translating textbooks into different languages, as well as publishing "The Loves of The Plants" during 1789. His book was a huge success like his business, and was even republished as a sequel to a poem two year later in 1791. Darwin was also very successful in the world of invention. Over his lifetime, he met and discussed with people majoring formerly in science, industry, education, and politics. He also invented some of the modern items still used today, such as windmills, carriages, and many types of mechanical devices. He also aided in building canal systems and steam power usage. ALFRED RUSSELL WALLACE Wallace was known for his work as a naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist. However, he actually did not have that much education as a child. During 1828, he moved to Hertford with his family at only age five, and was educated at Hale's Grammar School. He unfortunately only stayed until March of 1837, as when he was fourteen he travelled to London and worked in carpentry with his older brother John.(Wallace was number eight out of his parent's nine kids). During 1841, he moved to Wales, where he developed an interest for nature and its history. At one point in his lifetime, he sailed to South America and studied organism in that area, eventually evaluating the same theory that Darwin developed years later. However, on his return trip to England, his ship caught on fire, sinking with all of his species and evidence. Therefore, he had found a major discovery, but was not credited because he could not show and evidence for his findings. Unfortunately for him, Darwin discovered the same theory years later and was given all the credit, as he had evidence of how evolution and natural selection had occurred. JEAN BAPTISTE LAMARCK Before Lamarck worked in science, he was in the Jewish seminary at Amiens during 1761. However, soon after his father passed away, he joined the campaign for a French army in Germany during 1761, and displayed strong courage and bravery in his first battle. As a result, he was soon promoted to officer until peace was obtained during 1763. He then spent the next five years on garrison duty in southern France, but was forced to give up his job due to injury. For a while, he worked as a bank clerk in Paris, France for, but soon became interested in medicine and botany. Lamarck was actually the first scientist to suggest a mechanism for evolution. He called this the "Theory of Use- Disuse", or the Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics. Although this was an "incorrect" theory, he challenged a lot of ideas that people believed for a long period of time. Over time, the discovery of "jumping genes" helped support Lamarck's theory. Lamarck proposed that if an organism uses a structure a lot and so do its relatives/ ancestors, over periods of time that specific structure will develop better. The example he used was through giraffes, as shown to the right. The giraffes with the short necks can only eat the bushes down below and cannot reach the branches in the taller trees. The giraffes with high necks, however, can reach the high trees. Over periods of time, the giraffes with the short necks will eat all the food down below and die off from starvation, so their genes will be removed from the gene pool. The giraffes with long necks, on the other hand, will survive and pass on their genes to offspring and better their structure, as Lamarck suggested. |
Charles Darwin, 1809- 1882 (above)
(From left to right above): Robert Waring (R.W.) Darwin and Erasmus Darwin
Finch varieties diagram (above)
Erasmus Darwin, 1731- 1802 (above)
Alfred Russel Wallace, 1823- 1913 (above)
Jean Baptiste Lamarck, 1744- 1829 (above)
Theory of Use- Disuse Diagram (above)
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