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On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

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On November 24th, 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin (renamed On the Origin of Species 13 years later) was published in London, England. In it, Charles Darwin specified his observations and gave his insight on what he thought caused evolution. He called it "natural selection." Before this, nearly everyone believed that a single God created every living organism that none of them had changed a bit since then. Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species influenced the minds of 1859 and impacted all of science. Charles Darwin was born to Robert Darwin and Susannah Wedgwood on February 12, 1809. Darwin was raised by his three …show more content…

It was on these islands that Darwin noted that various birds, though the same species, differed based on the different islands they resided on, most notably the mockingbird and finch. It was here that Darwin first theorized about whether or not species could change over time, based on their location. Could a species change because of the land, the climate, all of the things that can affect a species? On the Origin of Species was a breakthrough at the time. It contained radical ideas that many people weren't prepared to accept, the most widely known being that humans evolved from apes. There are many important ideas contained within Darwin's book. The first and foremost being: Darwin's belief that every species, living and extinct, originated from one individual species. Following this belief, Darwin concluded that organisms within a populace must compete for resources to survive. Also, the organisms within those individual populations will then show deviations, such as differently shaped beaks for different food sources. With these variations comes the inevitable fact that certain organisms will gain enhancements that will improve its ability to compete for resources or survive adversity. Considering this, it is no surprise that Darwin also theorized that those organisms with beneficial variations were more likely to survive and pass their characteristics

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