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Today I'll talk about Charles Darwin, and how he published his famous work
However, I won't mention details about his personal life
Even though they are important, like his marriage and his daughter's dead
because I don't want this video to be too long
Charles Robert Darwin was born on February the 12th, 1809
in Sherewsbury, a town close to Gales, England
His father and grandfather were physicians
and his Grandfather was famous in the community
In 1825 he was admitted in Edinburgh's university
Because his father was concerned about his future
So he made him study medicine and theology
However, young Darwin gradually quitted school
so he could fully dedicate his time to study marine invertebrates
his interest in natural science made him enroll in the H.M.S. Beagle
commanded by captain Robert Fitzroy in a trip that lasted five years
From 1831 to 1836
his passion for nature manifested in his sense of observation
and his notes on fauna diversity of Galapagos islands and other visited places
and collected fossils during his trip were the foundation of his work: "The Origin of the Species"
As he was comparing differences and similarities of hunted animals
that were part of his collection, he started to think in a revolutionary idea
that nowadays we know as the theory of evolution
his fundamental work: "The origin of the species by means of natural selection
or preservation of preferred species in the struggle for life"
Published in 1859, and better known by it's shot name:
"Origin of the Species"
established that the explanation of nature's diversity...
is due to the accummulated modifications caused by evolution along consecutive generations
being honest, when I first read this book, some years ago...
I looked with curiosity for the part in where he mentioned that men descend from apes
And I was a little disappointed when I realized that Darwin never made that suggestion
in the book he only compares the animal specimens that he captured during his journey
and to try to explain the similarities and differences
explanations limited by the lack of technology and knowledge of that time
Nevertheless, this idea was so novel and impetuous
that it was immediately attacked and criticized
misunderstending of his work or lack of understanding
was shown in the attacks made in the newspapers
where cartoons showed Darwin with the body of an ape
Subsequently, Darwin published an assay named:
"The origin of men, and selection in relation to sex"
in which he wrote about human evolution and natural selection
through the study of the differences between male and female
differences that exist inside one kind
he also published other less-known books, in which he wrote about botanic
Socio-cultural environment of his time made Darwin hesitate about his work being published
because he was concerned about public reaction
even his wife was a person of a conservative education
issue that also worried the naturist
Darwin's health stated to get worst and was still hesitating on publishing his ideas
However, when he read the essays of another naturist: Alfred Russell Wallace
that had very similar conclusions
made him take the decision of rushing the publishing of his work
Wallace's publication didn't catch much of scientific community's attention
it was only criticized
and a year later, Darwin published an extract of his work
becoming an unusually popular publication
when it finally came out in 1859
In his last years, despite of multiple sickness
Darwin kept working in scientific investigation, specially botanic
then he died on April 19th 1882
in the city of Downe, Kent (England)
and he was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside Isaac Newton
and his work is still the most important science progress
and thanks to this, the comprehension of the natural work has been advancing in big steps
Darwin's work made some of the intellectuals of the time to question the meaning of their faith
and Darwin himself ended up being an agnostic
Since then, religion apologists had been trying to discredit the evolution theory
with little success
Greetings and Think Free!