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Charles Darwin
The Beagle set sail on December 27, 1831 to study the West Coast of South America and several Pacific islands. Darwin’s job was to study the geology and biology of the lands. During the course of the voyage, Darwin observed an enormous number of plant and animal species, and discovered many fossils. Darwin took careful notes on everything he observed. Those notes later provided the basis of his theories. Darwin returned home in 1836 and developed a reputation as one of England’s leading biologists. Darwin concluded that species evolved over long periods due to what he called natural selection. There may be differences in the offspring of an organism. These differences are called mutations. We generally think of mutations as harmful, such as birth defects, but a mutation is simply an alteration of the genetic information of an organism. Some mutations are good. A child might be taller or stronger than his or her parents. Darwin’s theory suggested that organisms evolved to fit their environment based on natural selection. If a mutation was good, the organism lived and contributed the mutation to the gene pool of its offspring. If the mutation was bad, the organism was more likely to die before contributing to the gene pool. Over billions of years, these mutations slowly produced the world we know today. According to the theory of evolution, organisms have adapted
to their environment. Lizards are green because if they were any other
color they could be easy spotted and eaten. Humans eventually developed
from less intelligent species through natural selection. If bigger animals
were around, a purple dinosaur would have a tough time staying alive in
a green forest. |
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To cite this page: |
Charles
Darwin was born in England on February 12, 1809—the same day as
Abraham Lincoln. He planned to become a doctor like his father, but decided
against medicine after witnessing several operations performed without
anesthesia. Darwin studied to become a minister, but he was not happy.
At the age of 22, Darwin convinced his family to allow him to travel as
an unpaid “naturalist” on a five-year journey aboard the HMS
Beagle.