Charles Darwin: Liberator of the Human Mind

2072 Words5 Pages

I. Introduction
Evolution is a universal postulate to which all theories, hypotheses, and systems must follow in order to be significant and accurate. It is considered to be a light which illuminates all facts, a course which all lines of thought must follow (Dobzhansky). The man who discovered this life-changing concept was named Charles Robert Darwin. From his theories on the explanation of natural selection, to the variation of species, Darwin shook the world by proving Earth was much older than previously assumed, and the creatures that dwell on this planet have changed over the years. Charles Darwin is the most influential person in history because he created the evolutionary theory that furthered scientific research in fields of science such as biology and psychology, wrote several books on his theories that brought upon new notions of literature, and stirred up new ideas on how people viewed God's creation theory.

II. Biography
On February 12, 1809, a boy named Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. He was the fifth of the six children of Robert and Susannah Darwin, a doctor and potter respectively (Clark 6). His grandfathers were the innovative potter, Josiah Wedgwood, and Erasmus Darwin, a naturalist and physician (Cobb). When Charles was eight-years-old, his mother died, and he began studying at the Anglican Shrewsbury School. In June of 1825, his father pulled Darwin out of Shrewsbury School and enrolled him into the University of Edinburgh (Wyhe). Darwin was planning to study medicine at Edinburgh University, but because he was appalled by surgery, he changed to studying Divinity at Christ’s College, Cambridge University (Kreis). There, he became acquainted with Professor John Stevens Hensl...

... middle of paper ...

... Ted. "Christianity and the Darwinism Are Not Incompatible." Intelligent Design vs. Evolution. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. From "Intelligent Religion: Are Science and Faith Really Incompatible?" Sojourners Magazine 34 (Dec. 2005): 9. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.
Robinson, Richard. “Charles Darwin.” Plant Sciences. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. Biography in Context. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Shepherd-Barron, Jake. "Evolution of drug resistance in bacteria." Young Scientists Journal July Dec. 2012: 80. Student Edition. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
Wyhe, John van. “Timeline of the life of Charles Robert Darwin.” The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Darwin Online. 2002. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Zhao, Buyun. “Darwin’s Impact On Biology.” Charles Darwin & Evolution. Christ’s College, Cambridge, 2009. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

Open Document