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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <script src="prototype.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script src="pagecounter.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script src="MM_images.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />  <title>Darwin Online: Biography</title> <style type="text/css">  </style>  <script src="randomimage.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <link href="darwin.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body onload="updatePageCounter();"> <div id="container"> <div id="background"> <div class="menurow"> <div class="menu"> <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk"><img src="image/logo.gif" alt="Darwin Online" /></a> <div> <div class="floatleft"><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Publications','','image/menu_publications_on.gif',1)"><img src="image/menu_publications_off.gif" alt="Publications" title="Darwin's publications and published manuscripts" name="Publications" id="Publications" /></a></div> <div class="floatleft"><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/manuscripts.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Manuscripts','','image/menu_manuscripts_on.gif',1)"><img src="image/menu_manuscripts_off.gif" alt="Manuscripts" title="Darwin manuscripts and private papers" name="Manuscripts" id="Manuscripts" /></a></div> <div class="floatleft"><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/biography.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Biography','','image/menu_biography_on.gif',1)"><img src="image/menu_biography_off.gif" alt="Biography" title="Timeline, life in pictures and more" name="Biography" id="Biography" /></a></div> <div class="floatleft"><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/media.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Media','','image/menu_media_on.gif',1)"><img src="image/menu_media_off.gif" alt="Media" title="Press, Permissions and Illustrations" name="Media" id="Media" /></a></div> <div class="floatleft"><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/AboutUs.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('About','','image/menu_aboutus_on.gif',1)"><img src="image/menu_aboutus_off.gif" alt="About Us" title="Introduction, Credits, User guide and Feedback" name="About" id="About" /></a></div> <div class="menu_search_bg floatright"><input type="text" size="16" onfocus="this.value=''" onkeypress="handleFieldKeyPress(event,this)" name="text" value="Search" class="menu_search_input" /> <a rsf:id="advanced-search" target="_top" href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/advanced-search?manuscript=false&published=false">Advanced search</a></div> </div> </div>  </div>  <div class="clearboth"></div> <div id="main"> <div class="content_internal">  <h2 align="center">Biography<a href="contents.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="graphics/1881_ManisbutaWorm_fig.jpg"></a></h2> <p align="justify"><strong><a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html"><img src="graphics/1871_DarwinRejlanderTHUMB_A289_001.jpg" alt="Charles Darwin in 1871" width="216" height="358" hspace="20" vspace="5" border="0" align="right" /></a>Perhaps no one has influenced our knowledge of the natural world as much as English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). His theory of evolution by natural selection, now the unifying theory of the life sciences, explained where all of the astonishingly diverse kinds of living things came from and how they became exquisitely adapted to their particular environments. His theory reconciled a host of diverse kinds of evidence such as the progressive fossil record, geographical distribution of species, recapitulative appearances in embryology, homologous structures, vestigial organs and nesting taxonomic relationships. No other explanation before or since has made sense of these facts.<br /> In further works Darwin demonstrated that the difference between humans and other animals is one of degree not kind. In geology, palaeontology, zoology, ecology, taxonomy, botany, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, literature and theology Darwin's writings produced profound reactions, many of which are still ongoing. Yet even without his evolutionary works, Darwin's accomplishments would be difficult to match. His brilliantly original work in geology, botany, biogeography, invertebrate zoology, psychology and scientific travel writing would still make him one of the most original and influential workers in the history of science. As the recent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darwin-Iconographies-John-van-Wyhe/dp/9811229279/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1611290932&refinements=p_27%3APaul+Van+Helvert&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Paul+Van+Helvert" target="_blank"><em>Darwin: A Companion</em></a> demonstrates beyond doubt, Darwin is the most influential man of science who ever lived. </strong></p> <p align="justify"><strong>Darwin's writings are consequently of interest to an extremely large number and wide variety of readers. This site contains the largest collection of his writings ever created with thousands of new discoveries available nowhere else and thousands of publications by other writers about Darwin and his influence. See his complete <a href="contents.html">Publications</a> and <a href="manuscripts.html">Manuscripts</a>. </strong></p> <p align="justify"><strong><em>Darwin Online</em> is the only source in the world for the complete works of Charles Darwin- see his <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html">Publications</a> and <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/manuscripts.html">Papers & Manuscripts</a>.</strong></p> <table align="right" width="105" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="101"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1M8qqaFwww" target="_blank" class="style2">Audio version of this introduction - YouTube</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="darwin.html"> Darwin: A biographical sketch</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="timeline.html">Timeline</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="life1.html">Darwin's life in pictures</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="Complete_Library_of_Charles_Darwin.html">The Complete Library of Charles Darwin</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="EditorialIntroductions/vanWyhe_Complete_Photographs_of_Darwin.html">The Complete Photographs of Darwin</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="EditorialIntroductions/vanWyhe_Darwin_and_religion.html">Darwin and religion</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <i>Beagle</i><a href="EditorialIntroductions/vanWyhe_Darwin_Online_Beagle_Voyage.htm"> voyage materials</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="recollections.html">Recollections of Darwin</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span><a href="EditorialIntroductions/vanWyhe_DarwinsFuneral.html"> Darwin's funeral</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">•</span> <a href="obituaries.html">Obituaries of Darwin</a></h3> <h3><span class="style4">• </span><a href="reviews.html"> Reviews of Darwin's works</a></h3> <p align="center"><a href="graphics/Zoology_Illustrations.html" target="_blank"><img src="graphics/1842_Zoology_F8.17_123.jpg" width="503" height="30" border="0" /></a></p> <p align="left"><strong>See also:</strong></p> <blockquote> <p align="left"><strong>Darwin's personal 'Journal'. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/vanWyhe_JournalDAR158.html" target="_blank">Introduction</a> <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=CUL-DAR158.1-76&viewtype=side&pageseq=1">Text & image</a> </strong></p> <p align="left">The most useful reference work ever published for almost anything relating to Darwin with thousands of new discoveries is: </p> <blockquote> <p align="left"><strong>Paul van Helvert & John van Wyhe, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/DARWIN-COMPANION-ICONOGRAPHIES-JOHN-WYHE/dp/9811229279/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9789811208225&qid=1655694642&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><em>Darwin: A Companion</em></a> (2021). </strong>See in <em>Darwin Online</em>: Freeman, <em>Charles Darwin: A companion</em>. 2d ed. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=A27b&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p align="left"><strong>For more detailed accounts of Darwin's life on this site see:</strong></p> <blockquote> <p align="left"><span class="style6"><em>The autobiography of Charles Darwin</em>. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1497&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a></span></p> <p align="left"><strong><em>The life and letters of Charles Darwin</em> (1887). <a href="graphics/LL_Autobio_Illustrations.html"><img src="graphics/illustrations.jpg" alt="Click to see illustrations" width="37" height="23" border="0" align="absbottom" /></a><br /> Vol. 1 <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1452.1&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a> Vol. 2 <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1452.2&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a> Vol. 3 <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1452.3&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><em>More letters of Charles Darwin</em> (1903). <a href="graphics/ML_Illustrations.html"><img src="graphics/illustrations.jpg" alt="Click to see illustrations" width="37" height="23" border="0" align="absbottom" /></a><br /> Vol. 1. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1548.1&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a> Vol. 2. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1548.2&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">Text</a></strong></p> <p align="left">* Very many other biographies of Darwin are available in the <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/supplementary.html"><strong>supplementary works</strong></a>. </p> <p align="right">John van Wyhe</p> </blockquote>  </div>  </div >  <div id="footerrow_internal"> <div id="returntohomepage"> <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/">Return to homepage</a></div>  <div id="copyright"> <strong>Citation: </strong><a href="/people/van_wyhe.html"><strong>John van Wyhe</strong></a><strong>, ed. 2002-. <em>The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online</em> (<a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/">http://darwin-online.org.uk/</a>)</strong></div>  <div id="statistics_internal"> <div id="counter"> <div id="page-counter"><span> </span></div> </div> </div>  </div>  </div>  </div>  <p align="left" class="style2">File last up8 January, 2025e -->e --> </p> </body> </html>