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Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was born
Lamark advocated a theory of evolution which included the idea that traits could be acquired and then passed along to offspring. -
The first theory of evolution is published
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published his theory of evolution, Philosophie Zoologique. His theory was that evolution occurred through the inheritance of acquired characteristics, or the use/disuse theory. His ideas about how it occured were not convincing. -
Alfred Russel Wallace was born.
Identified the Wallace Line that divides the Indonesian archipelago into two distinct parts, one in which animals relate to those of Australia, and one in which the species are of Asian origin. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species. Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection -
Lamarck Acquired Characteristics
Lamarck thought characteristics aquired over a life time could be passed on to offspring. This theory was called the inheritance of aquired characteristics. At this point in time lamarck had no knowledge of cell biology or genetics. -
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Charles Lyell publishes Principles of Geology
Charles Lyell popularized the idea that the Earth had been shaped by slow-acting forces that are still at work today. -
Darwin departs on the HMS Beagle
Darwin was a British scientist that lived from 1809 - 1882. At the age of 22, Darwin departed for a 5 year voyage around South America on a survey ship called the HMS Beagle. This voyage gave Darwin the opportunity to discover hundreds of new species and witness the differences between two organisms from different islands that were believed to be of the same species. After taking hundreds of samples of animals and fossils, Darwin returned to Britain and began developing his theory. -
The HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, finally reaches Galapagos Islands.
These birds, although nearly identical in all other ways to mainland finches, had different beaks. Their beaks had adapted to the type of food they ate in order to fill different niches on the Galapagos Islands. Their isolation on the islands over long periods of time made them undergo speciation. -
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Developing ideas
Darwin develops his ideas that evolution can be explained by descent with modification and natural selection -
Darwin returns from his 5 yr voyage
Darwin was a British scientist that lived from 1809 - 1882. At the age of 22, Darwin departed for a 5 year voyage around South America on a survey ship called the HMS Beagle. This voyage gave Darwin the opportunity to discover hundreds of new species and witness the differences between two organisms from different islands that were believed to be of the same species. After taking hundreds of samples of animals and fossils, Darwin returned to Britain and began developing his theory. -
Wallace and Darwin
Wallace and Darwin publish papers on natural selection -
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Evolution being dominated
Study of evolution dominated by studies of paleontology, development, and morphology -
The Origin of Species
Darwin publishses The Origin of Species -
Darwin's 1st essay
Darwin's first essay on natural selection -
Publishing
Mendel publishes his paper on pea genetics; Haeckel publishes his diagrams of the Tree of Life -
Importance of DNA in heredity
August Weismann publishes findings detailing how important DNA is to heredity, along with germ cell theory - the theory that inheritance only takes place by means of germ cells such as egg and sperm, and that other cells do not pass on their genes. -
Rediscovery
Rediscovery of Mendel's work by multiple individuals -
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Basic principles of inheritance genetics established
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Drosophila lab
T. H. Morgan establishes Drosophila lab at Columbia University, clarifies role of chromosomes inheritance. -
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Foundations of population genetics by R. A. Fisher, J. B. S. Haldane, and S. Wright
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Phoebus Levene
Phoebus Levene at the Rockefeller Institute identified the components (the four bases, the sugar and the phosphate chain) and he showed that the components of DNA were linked in the order phosphate-sugar-base. -
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"Modern Synthesis" of genetics and evolution
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Genetics and the Origin of Species by Th. Dobzhansky
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Systematics and the Origin of Species by Ernest Mayr
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Tempo and Mode in Evolution by G. G. Simpson
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1947-1960
Emphasis on chromosomal evolution, models of speciation, geographic variation, continued development of population genetics -
Variation and Evolution in Plants by G. L. Stebbins
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Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins performed X-ray crystallography studies of DNA, providing crucial information that led to the elucidation of the structure of DNA -
James Watson and Francis Crick's paper on DNA structure
James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the double-stranded, helical, complementary, anti-parallel model for DNA -
Evolution above the Species Level bu Bernhard Rensch
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Introduction of molecular studies of variation
Development of explicit quantitative methods for phylogenetic analysis, increased understanding of sexual selection, behavioral evolution, and coevolution -
Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling's molecular clock hypothesis
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Motoo Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution
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Evolution by Gene Duplication by Susumu Ohno
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Development of rapid methods for DNA sequencing
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Exponential increase in studies of evolution, especially molecular evolution, phylogenetic applications, experimental studies, and developmental processes of evolution
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Sociobiology by E. O. Wilson
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Genetic material verified
DNA is proven to be the genetic material by which inheritance passes from one generation to the next, and thus is the blueprint for evolution.
