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Charles Darwin
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The Beagle Voyage
When Charles Darwin was only 22, he was invited to sail aboard the HMS Beagle on an expedition that was only anticipated to take 2 years, and ended up taking 5. In his time spent away he was able to spend 2/3 of that on land to explore, collect and observe. He brought back more than 1,500 specimen to England. It was this journey, and these specimen that Darwin spent the next few years researching that lead him to the discoveries that filled his theories of Evolution and Natural Selection. -
Royal Society's Royal Medal
For Darwin's 3 volumes of work from the Beagle Voyage as well as current (at the time) research, he was awarded the Royal Medal from the Royal Society. This medal was given for important contributions to Natural knowledge. This was a huge stepping stone in Darwin's path to be able to publish his work on evolution, as this made his reputation as a biologist known. -
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
Charles Darwin released his first book on Natural selection, in which he argues that every species has evolved over time in the particular way to ensure the species adapts and can survive in the natural world.
In his work, he also argues that population size is governed by natural resources and limits of geography, which leaves each species to battling for the means to survive. This is where natural selection comes in. The more fit species will be able to adapt to the environment and prosper. -
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
Charles Darwin's second book on evolution was "The Descent of Man". After his first book was published, there was great debate on whether man was to have evolved from animals in the same way other species have evolved from "lower" form. In this book, it was made clear that the belief was that man did in fact evolve from the like. His theory came from years of his own research, as well as studies done by other naturalists that had been done in effort to either prove or disprove his theory.