The Wonders of Life on Earth [antikvár]

DARWIN'S LEGACY TO MODERN MAN A little over a hundred years ago, a British naturalist named Charles Darwin came up with a startling new theory. It was an explanation of how all living creatures had come into existence. Darwin's theory was that all creatures have descended from either one or a very few simple forms of life. Over a period of millions of years, these original forms of life branched out. Gradually they developed new characteristics that helped them to survive. As a result of these changes, reptiles, fish, insects, birds, and animals came into existence. The highest of all these forms of life is Man. This explanation of how new kinds of creatures have developed by natural selection is called the theory of evolution. Darwin first explained his theories to a group of scientists in London. His ideas were so new and startling that few of the scientists accepted them. But a year later, in 1859, Darwin explained his ideas more fully in a book called The Origin of Species. In this book he showed that plants and animals could not possibly have been created in their present form. They must have gone through a long process of development. Evolution was, therefore, a fact. But that was not all. In The Origin of Species, Darwin also described the method of evolution. Darwin's study at his home in Downe, England, is packed with books and specimens, much as he left them. Here he wrote all but two of his 17 books. He showed not only that it was a fact but also how evolutionary processes actually worked. As the years passed, more and more scientists came to see that Darwin was right. Today almost all scientists accept his theory of evolution. Later discoveries have confirmed his belief that all pres-ent-day creatures have descended from either one or a few original species. These discoveries have also proved that new species do not come into existence quickly. They develop very slowly, over periods of thousands of years—just as Darwin said. Darwin's whole life was devoted to scientific research. His interest in science started in his youth, when his hobbies were hunting for beetles, collecting minerals, and watching birds. As a student at Cambridge University in England, he went on field trips to examine plants, and he studied geology among the mountains of Wales. Darwin's father wanted him to become a clergyman and Charles consented to do so. But shortly after his graduation from Cambridge, Darwin received an offer that was to change his whole hfe. He was invited to go on a trip around the world on the British Royal Navy ship H.M.S. Beagle. The 242-ton Beagle was making the voyage to survey little-known areas of the world, and Darwin was offered the job of naturalist. Darwin was 22 when he sailed on the Beagle from Plymouth, England, on December 27, 1831. He returned to England on October 2, 1836. The voyage was a revelation to Darwin. It enabled him