Charles Darwin February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882

Charles Darwin's research and writing on Evolution and related topics is still very much alive today, modified and expanded on but only in a few details replaced. Here is a selection of writing about Darwin and his work to be found on this blog:

Darwin and his Formative Fieldwork

2008-02-13 Charles Darwin and Coral Reefs. Darwin's study of coral reefs was a defining project for him; he became the kind of scientist he was because of this study, and this helped define the nature of science itself.

2009-09-06 A conversation with David Dobbs about his book (reviewed here) on Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral. (See also this.)

2008-02-14 Darwin's Finches are the group of birds that Darwin studied and collected on the Galapagos. These birds make a great example of evolution in action, and their role in Darwin's development of evolutionary thinking is somewhat overestimated. It is true, however, that birds and islands are at the root of Darwin's theories.

A journey through the Voyage of the Beagle

• First, a bit about the Beagle
• The Voyage of the Beagle (the book and the trip and the experience)
• Darwin Crossing the Atlantic
• Darwin and the Rain Forest
• Darwin Gets his Wellies Wet
• South America on Five Dollars a Day
• Bugs
• Darwin South of the Tropics
• Darwin and the Gauchos
• Fossil Quadrupeds
• Rheas and the Birth of Evolutionary Theory
• Elephants and Horses

Darwin Scholarship

Darwin's notebooks, and not just his publications, are available to read and review. If you can read his handwriting.

2008-06-21 A talk about Biology and Darwin by Darwin Scholar Mark Borrello, at the Evolution 2008 meetings.

2009-02-08 Celebrating Darwin: a radio talk show about Darwin and Evolution at the Bell Museum.

Let's have a look at Wallace vs. Darwin; how were their theories similar and different?

Darwin was a geologist!

Reflections on The Origin of Species.

Mark Pagel on Charles Darwin; in which my favorite living evolutionary theorist talks about my favorite dead evolutionary theorist.

Evolutionary Theory:

The Modes of Natural Selection ... there are ways of categorizing Natural Selection in action. Here's the best way to do it.

For Natural Selection to work, three necesssary and sufficient conditions must be met. And then, it's kinda hard to avoid it.

2010-08-25 Natural Selection vs. Opportunity in Macroevolutionary Patterning of the Fossil Record ... a recent analysis pertaining to Darwinian theory.

Why didn't Darwin discover Mendel's laws?

Darwin had more than one theory, and at least one of the pertains to the question of the origin of life: NASA's new organism, the meaning of life, and Darwin's Second Theory