Charles Darwin developed the first scientific theory of evolution. His books--in particular the Origin of Species--became the bedrock upon which modern biology stands.
Darwin was born in 1809 to wealthy parents, and as a teenager he was expected to become a doctor like his father, Robert. But after he enrolled in the University of Edinburgh, he proved more interested in natural history than medicine. Darwin moved to Cambridge, where he began to train to be a clergyman--a common path for affluent young Englishman with an interest in nature. But an invitation to join a voyage around the world aboard the HMS Beagle altered the direction of his life one final time: over the next five years Darwin was transformed into a naturalist.
Darwin dug up fossils on his journey, collected birds and plants and other specimens, and became familiar with geology. It was not until his return to England, however, that Darwin began to seriously question the explanations of England's leading naturalists for how life got to be the way it is. Rather than being created at the beginning of the world, or from time to time over the history of the Earth, Darwin became convinced that species had evolved from common ancestors.
Darwin spent twenty years carefully gathering evidence for his theory and anticipating every objection his critics might have. He knew that he would have to find the mechanism by which life evolved. Darwin recognized that species contain vast amounts of variation, some of which could be inherited. Variations that made individuals better adapted to their environment would let them have more offspring. Natural selection, as Darwin called this process, would could gradually create enormous changes over millions of years. But Darwin also recognized other kinds of change, such as sexual selection--the success some males have at attracting females thanks to bright feathers or other displays.
Darwin offered his theory to the public in 1858, prompted by a letter he received from the naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace. Wallace had developed a similar theory to Darwin's, and Darwin feared his own, more detailed ideas would be neglected if Wallace was the first to publish his results. So he arranged that letters from both of them were read at a meeting of the Linnean Society and published in their journal. Darwin followed up with The Origin of Species in 1859. In later years, Darwin further developed his ideas about evolution, publishing books on species ranging from orchids to humans to earthworms. By the time Darwin died in 1882, he was recognized as one of England's greatest scientists and was buried in Westminster Abbey. By then, most biologists had come to agree with Darwin that species shared a common ancestry. But many rejected natural selection, preferring other kinds of mechanisms to drive evolutionary change. It was not until twentieth-century biologists uncovered DNA that they were able to confirm the reality of natural selection, by discovering how it worked on the level of molecules. -- Carl Zimmer, (Feb. 10, 2009)
Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
Darwin was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution and transformed the way we think about the natural world.
Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire into a wealthy and well-connected family. His maternal grandfather was china manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood, while his paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, one of the leading intellectuals of 18th century England.
Darwin himself initially planned to follow a medical career, and studied at Edinburgh University but later switched to divinity at Cambridge. In 1831, he joined a five year scientific expedition on the survey ship HMS Beagle.
At this time, most Europeans believed that the world was created by God in seven days as described in the bible. On the voyage, Darwin read Lyell's 'Principles of Geology' which suggested that the fossils found in rocks were actually evidence of animals that had lived many thousands or millions of years ago. Lyell's argument was reinforced in Darwin's own mind by the rich variety of animal life and the geological features he saw during his voyage. The breakthrough in his ideas came in the Galapagos Islands, 500 miles west of South America. Darwin noticed that each island supported its own form of finch which were closely related but differed in important ways.
On his return to England in 1836, Darwin tried to solve the riddles of these observations and the puzzle of how species evolve. Influenced by the ideas of Malthus, he proposed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection. The animals (or plants) best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the characteristics which helped them survive to their offspring. Gradually, the species changes over time.
Darwin worked on his theory for 20 years. After learning that another naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had developed similar ideas, the two made a joint announcement of their discovery in 1858. In 1859 Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection'.
The book was extremely controversial, because the logical extension of Darwin's theory was that homo sapiens was simply another form of animal. It made it seem possible that even people might just have evolved - quite possibly from apes - and destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created. Darwin was vehemently attacked, particularly by the Church. However, his ideas soon gained currency and have become the new orthodoxy.
Darwin died on 19 April 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Bron: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/charles_robert_darwin/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=charles%20darwin&st=cse
Live like a tramp
In April 1992 he took on a different persona in taking the name Alexander Supertramp which he got from the book ‘The Autobiografy of a Super-tramp’ by William Davies in 1908. In his writings he talks in the third person about Christopher Mccandless and Alexander Supertramp. I think this references to the fact that he was suffering from schizophrenia. He said things like “Christopher Mccandless is not searching for anything in Alaska, he was running for something instead”. Probably for the materialistic life and not least; his family. When somebody asked about his family he answered he didn’t had.
Priscilla has used her own text to obtain words for the wordbank. Here you can find this text with these marked words.
A fool or an idealist?
It’s foolish to change your life as a student for a life as a vagabond, isn’t it?
Christopher Mccandless is born in 1968 on the 12th of February in California in a normal family. After Christopher found out his father had a mistress he thought his life had all been a lie. Christopher Mccandless hitchhiked from his well to do family. He exchanged his safe life for living of the barest of essentials. He wants to find the meaning of life. Christopher donated all his savings to Oxfam International and left home. His burned his cash and sold his car. Bye capitalist society, hello new life. Inspired and fascinated by Jack Londons’ written work he decided to go to Alaska. Live with nothing produced by human being but itself. It’s foolish to change your life as a student for a life as a vagabond, isn’t it?
Live like a tramp
In April 1992 he took on a different persona in taking the name Alexander Supertramp which he got from the book ‘The Autobiografy of a Super-tramp’ by William Davies in 1908. In his writings he talks in the third person about Christopher Mccandless and Alexander Supertramp. I think this references to the fact that he was suffering from schizophrenia. He said things like “Christopher Mccandless is not searching for anything in Alaska, he was running for something instead”. Probably for the materialistic life and not least; his family. When somebody asked about his family he answered he didn’t had.
142 bus The hunters bus which Christopher used as his hide is now a tourist draw. Though you need to be a sort of super tramp yourself. It’s a forty miles road trip to the bus and roughly takes three days. Bring enough food and water. It’s a heavy trip. I think searching for pictures of the bus on internet is more my thing than this devil of a trip. But if you like it, there’s a Stampede Trail Map which offer two roads. A heavy and a less heavy road. This hiking destination is popular but don’t start this hike when you are a beginning hiker. Go with a group of minimum four persons because bears rarely attack groups. And there are many. There’s a good chance that they attack you when you are alone. Little tip: sing a song for them and they will relax.
Into the wild His road trip is made into my favorite film on earth called: Into the Wild. The beautiful music made by Eddie Vedder in combination with the amazing pictures makes his trip as a fantasy. Eddie Vedder even received a Golden Globe for the magnificent title song Guarenteed.
Into the wild His road trip is made into my favorite film on earth called: Into the Wild. The beautiful music made by Eddie Vedder in combination with the amazing pictures makes his trip as a fantasy. Eddie Vedder even received a Golden Globe for the magnificent title song Guarenteed.
This is Christopher with the famous bus.
Living like a foolish tramp was Christopher Mccandless ideal. I think offering his own life has made people aware of the capitalistic society. He wrote some great one-liners in a journal. I will give you some of these.
“If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed” "Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past."
And I want to close this blog with Christopher Mccandless his last quote: “Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.”
And I want to close this blog with Christopher Mccandless his last quote: “Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.”
