Lady Hope and Charles Darwin

In Charles Darwin biography we find that he was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England.

Darwin was the British naturalist who became famous for his theories of evolution and natural selection.

Darwin believed that all the life on earth evolved (developed gradually) over millions of years from a few common ancestors.

From 1831 to 1836 Darwin served as naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle on a British science expedition around the world.

Young Charles Darwin

In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species.

On the located in the Pacific Ocean (North-West of South America) he noticed many variations among plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America.

The expedition visited places around the world, and Darwin studied plants and animals everywhere he went, collecting specimens for further study.

In Charles Darwin biography we see that upon his return to London he conducted thorough research of his notes and specimens.

There are Several Related Theories:

• Evolution did occur
• Evolutionary change was gradual, requiring thousands to millions of years
• The primary mechanism for evolution was a process called natural selection and
• The millions of species alive today arose from a single original life form through a branching process called "specialization."

Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment.

He set these theories forth in his book called, "The Origin of Species" (1859).

Charles Darwin theory of evolution is based on five key observations and inferences drawn from them.

These observations and inferences have been summarized by the great biologist Ernst Mayr as follows:

1. Species have great fertility. They make more offspring than can grow to adulthood.
2. Populations remain roughly the same size, with modest fluctuations.

   From these three observations it may be inferred that in such an environment there will be a struggle for survival among individuals.

3. Food resources are limited, but are relatively constant most of the time.
4. In sexually reproducing species, generally no two individuals are identical. Variation is rampant.
5. And, much of this variation is heritable. From this it may be inferred:

In a world of stable populations where each individual must struggle to survive, those with the "best" characteristics will be more likely to survive, and those desirable traits will be passed to their offspring.