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Bishop Usher
Archbishop James Usher from Ireland, calculated using the bible references that the creation of Earth and Heaven was in 4004 B.C. -
Spontaneous Generation
Many new instruments for science research had been made at that time. The question of if life can arise from non-living matter was put to test. A Jesuit-trained physician named Francesco Redi showed why fly maggots often crop up in putrified meat. -
Linnaeus's
Swedish botanist named Carl von Linne started to classy all life on earth. His system divides into kingdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species. This influenced scientists such as Charles Darwin. Unlike Darwin, all the species didn't had a common ancestor. -
Comte de Bufon
George Louis Lecrere, Comte de Bufon, made a book called Natural History. In the book he declared that living creatures evolve according to natural laws. He suggests that apes and humans are related, which under religious pressure and criticism abandons the idea. -
Natural Theology
Archdeacon William Paley's "Natural Theology" states that not only God's existence, but also his attributes are manifest in the intricate forms of nature. Darwin would later study this book as a student. -
Lamarck
A french naturalist named Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck proposed that living things evolve throughout time to become more complex and adapted. -
Cuvier
The construction of canals and mines started to reveal strange fossils of extinct species. Georges Cuvier tried to explained them. He said that past natural catastrophes such as floods and earthquakes, killed certain species in the past. Though he didn't believe in evolution, his discoveries were a great support towards the idea of evolution. -
Lyell
Geologists in the 19th century thought Earth and life on it, spans vast ages. Charles Lyell, mentored by James Hutton, furthers the idea by stating that slow-moving, gradual processes explains Earth's geology. Charles Darwin will later use this to his theory of how species evolve. -
Beagle Voyage
Charles Darwin sails to the HMS Beagle to travel the world with the idea to become a clergy. When he returns in 1836, he is a changed man. He now is committed to science and how nature works. Many of the places he travel while in the Beagle were South America and the Galapagos Islands were he collected information and fossil to support his idea. -
Neanderthal
The discovery of a fossil of a man in Germany, very old, physically like modern humans, but distinctly different, questioned many people's mind if we humans really come from Adan and Eve like stated in Eden in the Holy Bible. -
Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, a young scientist sends Darwin a letter about his theory of how species evolve. To Darwin's surprise, he has come to the same theory of natural selection. With this in mind, he was pressured to publish now his theory to the world. -
Origin of Species
Darwin publishes his book "Origin of Species" with many evidences suggesting the theory of evolution. Just as domestic animals breed throughout "artificial selection", wild species evolve by "natural selection". This book caused many controversy because it defied biblical literatism. -
Ape Debate
While in Origin of Species doesn't state the human evolution, criticsm assume that humans are no exception. In a conference of Britain's Leading Scientists the theory of Darwin is the most important issue. Scientists were outraged towards Darwin making connections of apes towards humans. This influenced Thomas Huxley, to publish his book about humans evolving from apes. -
Evolution Accepted
Years later after the publish of Origin of Species, the idea was farly more accepted by the majority of scientists. Magazines, newspapers, and religious media promoted evolution. Still "natural selection", the process in which evolution happens, continues to be doubted. -
Descent of Man
Darwin now publishes "The Descent of Man" where he oppenly explains the evolution of human kind. He stresses the importance of "sexual selection", that in order to pass future traits to future generations, humans must like the opposite gender. -
Horse Fossil
Thomas Huxley pays a trip to the U.S. He visits Charles Marsh, a passionate fossil hunter. Marsh had recently discovered fossils of ancient horses. They predict a four-toed ancestor of the modern horse had another more ancient with 5 toes, months later, a five-toed ancient horse is discovered called Eohippus. -
Darwin's Burial
Darwin's burial is placed in the Anglical Church, near to Sir Isaac Newton's grave. This means the appreciation to his discoveries and the reconcilation with science and the church. -
Radioactivity
The discovery of radioactivity reveals astonishing facts. Henri Bequerrel uses radioactivity to calculate Earth's age. It turned out to be more than 4.3 billion years old! This proved once more Darwin's theory was correct. -
Piltdown Man
Critics and scientists were awaiting for a piece that would prove the link between apes and humans. The fossil skull "Piltdown Man" seemed to be it. The skull was brought in the 1920's to the Scope Trials and in the 1950's the fossil is revealed to be fake. -
First Anti-Evolution Bill
Six Southern states in the US considered anti-evolution proposals. It banned in Oklahoma and Florida to teach evolution or anything related to Darwinism that proclaims human kind to be related to inferior species such as apes. -
Tenessee Law
In the spring of 1925, in Tenessee a new law against evolution is created. It bans teaching human evolution in schools. Thus because it contradicts the divine creation of human kind as thaught in the Bible. -
Man Like Ape
Raymond Dart finded a skull man-like-ape in Taungs, South Africa. The fossils are found along with ancient baboon that has mysterious opening in its head. This made Dart think that human-apes hunted baboon and eated its brain. This idea caused a lot of controversy, especially to the anti-evolutionists, being disrespectful to think humans were beast-like once. -
Biology Textbooks Censored
In the South of the U.S, Biology textbooks containing evolution were censored in schools. George William Hunter's "A Civic Biology" was issue at the Scopes Trials. Textbooks of Biology started to avoid the topic of evolution. -
Anti-Evolution Bills
Years later after the Scopes Trial, anti-evolution bills are proposed in 20 states around the country. This made prohibited to teach evolution in schools or any other media. Once accepted in Southern and Western states, it becomes a law for almost 40 years. -
Neo-Darwinism
In the 1940's scientists were researching about genes and genetics. They discovered that random genetic mutations caused changes in the organism and where passed to the offspring. These changes were passed throughout what Darwin said "natural selection". Neo-Darwinism is the 19th century theory of Darwin along with the recent discoveries of genes. This is another supportment towards evolution. -
Evolution Shunned
The success of censoring any biology books containing Darwin's evolution theory was creating evolution a not well known topic to the majority of the population in the U.S. It was estimated than half of all high school science teachers at that time, thaught anything related to evolution -
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court bans religion to be teached in schools. It states that neither a state nor the federal government "can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another". Later in 1948, the laws is applied into schools -
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII sees a way to accept evolution. This reconcilation act consisted in the Pope's papers on human origins. He says to Christians to accept the idea of evolution, focusing in the idea of body and soul; "If human body takes its origin from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God." -
Origins of Life
A student named Stanley Miller experiments with amino acids with electric currents to act as lighting and soup of inorganic chemicals to simulate the conditions of ancient Earth. Amino acids are the key chemical building blocks of life. This experiments and others to follow indicate that the first life on Earth may arisen through natural processes. -
DNA
Scientists, since the discovering of genes, study it, but never were able to know what caused it. When the DNA puzzled is solved, it becomes one of the most important scientific event in 20th century. It is also a support to evolution theory. -
Humans and Apes
Since the DNA puzzle is solved, scientists discover that there are astonishing similarities in the DNA blueprints of humans and apes. We share a 98% percent of our genes with apes. This creates controversy and more success towards evolution theory. -
Supreme Court on Evolution
A biology teacher Susan Epperson, with the same cause as John Scopes, starts fighting the anti-evolution laws. Soon this is heard by the Supreme Court, which rules the Arkansas laws. The anti-evolution laws are banned and evolution is free to be teached. -
DNA Codes
The genes for living things, and studying them was very difficult. But with new technologies arising, studying and understanding technology is more easier. Now we can see how DNA or various organisms have changed through time as they evolve. -
Textbooks Desclaimers
The school Tangipahoa Parish, in Los Angeles, passed a requirement that when evolution is being thought, students must know its not to influence or dissuade the Biblical version of creation. This act of reconciliation caused great criticism and reaction. An Alabama Board of Education cleared that all biology texts must note that evolution is a theory, not a fact. -
Pope John Paul II
Following the idea of his predecessor Pius XII, Pope John Paul II takes a step further into accepting evolution considering the distinguish of body and soul. "It is indeed remarkable, that this theory has been progressively accepted by researcher, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge." -
Science Standards
Now that evolution is being reached freely in some schools, the Fordham Foundation regrets to report that 19 US states don't teach correctly evolution or don't meet with the science standards. Some states even avoid talking about it at all. -
Human Genome
Now that scientists have studied more deeply the human genome, they see that we are not only related intimately with apes, but with fruit flies and yeast. This meaning they have a common ancestor. THis gives scientists new tools for understanding how humans, along with other species, have evolved over billions of years.
