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The HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, finally reaches Galapagos Islands.
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Darwin returned to England after a five-year voyage on the Beagle.
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Charles Darwin received a monograph from Alfred Russel Wallace which essentially summarized Darwin's own theories on evolution, thus inspiring him to publish his work sooner than he planned.
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Charles Darwin began writing his seminal book, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
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Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was first published. All 1,250 copies of the first printing were sold out on the very first day.
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Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection went into its second edition, 3,000 copies.
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Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of the Church of England engaged in their famous debate on Darwin's theory of evolution.
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Charles Darwin published a book about his grandfather, entitled Life of Erasmus Darwin.
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Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed into law a prohibition against the teaching of evolution in public schools. Later that year John Scopes would violate the law, leading to the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial.
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The infamous Scopes Monkey Trial began in Dayton, Tennessee.
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Pope Pius XII issued the encyclical Humani Generis, condemning ideologies which threatened Roman Catholic faith but allowing that evolution did not necessarily conflict with Christianity.
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Decided: Epperson v. Arkansas
The Supreme Court found that Arkansas' law prohibiting the teaching of evolution was unconstitutional because the motivation was based on a literal reading of Genesis, not science. -
Decided: McClean v. Arkansas
A federal judge found that Arkansas' "balanced treatment" law mandating equal treatment of creation science with evolution was unconstitutional. -
Decided: Edwards v. Aguillard
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court invalidated Louisiana's "Creationism Act" because it violated the Establishment Clause. -
Decided: Webster v. New Lenox
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that school boards have the right to prohibit teaching creationism because such lessons would constitute religious advocacy.