Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. On the Origin of Species builds its case through variation, common descent, selection, breeding examples, geography and the imperfect record of past life. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex extends the argument to human origins and sexual selection. The Voyage of the Beagle opens an earlier phase of his work, showing how travel, collecting and close attention to animals, fossils and geological formations shaped the questions he later pursued. Darwin’s method depends on comparison across many kinds of observation rather than a single dramatic discovery. On the Origin of Species supplies the conceptual foundation; The Voyage of the Beagle reveals the field experience and curiosity behind it.