The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. This theory is now considered a cornerstone of biology, and has significantly affected other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology and anthropology. Darwin's work was very controversial at the time he published it and many during his time did not take it seriously. Evolution by natural selection proved to be a significant blow to notions of divine creation and intelligent design prevalent in 19th-century science, specifically overturning the Creation biology doctrine of "created kinds." The idea that there was no line to be drawn between human beings, races, and animals would forever make Darwin a symbol of iconoclasm who removed humanity's privileged place in the universe.