Why is it the last Darwin?

After returning from sailing, Darwin stayed at home for only a few days and went to Cambridge. He rented an apartment and concentrated on sorting out and studying his own rocks, mineral specimens and geological data. At the same time, he also buried himself in writing "observation diary" and geological papers.

Darwin was too busy with his work to care about his marriage. Since childhood, he has been very close to his little cousin Emma, who is 10 months older than him. From Darwin's trip around the world to his return to sort out specimens and publish books, Emma has always cared about him and waited for him.

1839 In June, Darwin married his little cousin Emma. They lived together for 43 years, gave birth to 10 children, and had a happy family life. But because they are close relatives, it has a great influence on children's intelligence.

After marriage, Darwin went on working. He began to write notes about the origin of species and began to collect all the facts about the variation of animals and plants at home. He found that the fine varieties of livestock and plants were not created by God. It is the result of human artificial selection from generation to generation, which shows that species can be mutated under artificial selection.

Then, he studied the variation under natural conditions, which is the result of "survival of the fittest" and "survival of the fittest".

From 1842, Darwin formally wrote the Outline of the Origin of Species, wrote the outline of 1842, and later wrote the outline of 1844, citing many facts to prove that species are mutated, and the essence of his theory of biological evolution is natural selection.

Darwin spent nearly 10 years preparing the outline of species theory. 1858, he began to write "The Origin of Species", and it only took more than a year to complete this masterpiece that shocked the world.

1859165438+1On October 24th, several bookstores in London were crowded with people: the doorways and courtyards were as lively as the markets, describing the crowds coming and going. People rushed to buy the newly published Origin of Species, and 1250 copies sold out in one day. The whole of Britain was impacted by Darwin's theory of evolution, and a "Darwin whirlwind" was blown up.

The Origin of Species introduces Darwin's theory of evolution in detail. He overthrew the religious theory that God created everything, and thought that all living things evolved from low level to high level. In nature, the available living space is limited, and all kinds of creatures are fighting for food. This is the eternal struggle for existence. Those who are most adaptable to the environment can survive, while others will die. This is called "survival of the fittest". However, with the passage of time, the environment is also changing, and so is biology, that is, in order to survive in the new environment, from one species to another, which is called "natural selection".

As soon as the Origin of Species was published, the whole academic community roared. Strong winds and waves rushed to Darwin, with both the strongest supporters and the strongest opponents, but the proportion was unbalanced. For every 100 readers, there are 99 fiercest opponents, and the remaining one is the most enthusiastic supporter. No one seems to be emotionally neutral.

The former Darwin's teacher and friend, geologist sedgwick, said in a letter to Darwin that the new theory was wrong and very harmful, which made him feel real pain. He warned Darwin that putting humans and animals on the same board would put humans in danger of mental breakdown. He also accused Darwin of "rational corruption" and delusion: planning arrogantly; An impossible plan. Show yourself to the readers as an original genius! The signature at the end of this letter is: "Now is the descendant of apes, and the past was your old friend".

Fitzroy, the former hound captain, also joined the conservative ranks. He said he was lazy to Darwin and wanted to cry. In his view, "humans were born yesterday-they will die tomorrow morning." We are not eternal, just a flash in the pan, which seems to happen by accident. "

Then, all kinds of abuse and contempt (miè) followed.

Darwin's staunchest supporter is Hershey (xū) Li, who is a first-class zoologist in Britain. The young scholar said that in order to defend the theory of evolution, "I will accept the stake", and he solemnly declared, "I am sharpening my claws and teeth to prepare." Botanist Watson called Darwin "the greatest revolutionary in the natural history of the world"

Because of their defense, the unfavorable situation for Darwin and his evolution theory was finally reversed, and the position of evolution theory in academic circles was initially established. A few years later, even Darwin's opponents began to understand that Darwin's theory of evolution was of great significance to the development of many fields of natural science. Later, even the church changed its attitude, claiming that the past debate was purely a misunderstanding.

The man who said that he was from a monkey finally won a high honor. More than 70 scientific research and academic institutions in Europe and America have awarded him various titles, and he has also won the Royal Medal and the Kepler Medal (xūn), which is a great honor for a British scientist.

However, the saying that people are monkeys often leads to some jokes in the next few years. There is such a story: one day, Darwin was invited to dinner. He happened to sit with a beautiful young girl at the party. "Mr Darwin," the girl joked with a joke (xuè): joking with funny and funny words. The scientist asked in a tone, "I heard that you asserted that human beings were changed from monkeys." Do I belong to your judgment? "

"Of course!" Darwin replied politely, "However, you didn't change from an ordinary monkey, but from a very charming monkey."

Darwin won various medals. He received a special gift on his birthday. He keeps making donations, supporting scientific undertakings and helping relatives and friends.

Darwin was famous all over the world in his later years, and his family was rich, but he regarded money and reputation as foreign things and never gave up scientific research. His Origin of Species has been translated into 53 languages and spread all over the world. He won numerous medals and prizes.

1867, Prussia "meritorious knight" awarded him the title of knight. Darwin smiled and said to his friend, "I was knighted, but I think it's nothing."

The Queen of England wanted to confer the title of Sir Darwin, but Darwin ignored it at all.

Faced with all kinds of honors, Darwin felt "great satisfaction" with only two gifts.

1877 February 12 is Darwin's 68th birthday. On this day, he received two special gifts from abroad: two beautiful photo albums. An album contains photos of 154 scientists and their birthday greetings; Another photo album contains 2 17 photos of observers and naturalists.

Darwin was particularly excited to see these two unique and affectionate gifts. He sat in the chair, leafed through it and said to himself, "This is the highest honor I have won, and I am very grateful to them."

"This precious gift must be well preserved." Darwin turned to Emma and said, "I will write to two sponsors at once and ask them to convey my gratitude and gratitude to each donor."

Emma was also glad that Darwin was loved and respected by so many foreign scientists. Emma knows that Darwin has won many awards for more than ten years, but he has never been so excited as he is today. He values the understanding and respect of fellow scientists more than winning prizes.

Darwin gratefully picked up a pen and wrote a thank-you letter to two sponsors.

Darwin inherited his father's legacy of 6,543,800+pounds, but he was always frugal in family expenses and remained humble: (room, equipment, etc. ) simple and rude: not detailed. Scientific research is carried out under a microscope, and the blank or reverse side of other people's letters is used as draft paper.

Some people say that Darwin is like a miser, but he has always been helpful and generous. In the last 20 years of his life, he kept donating a lot of money to support the scientific cause or help (jǐ) friends and relatives.

Darwin spent his later years in illness, but he still finished several books. In the past days, he has been fighting against illness.

After Darwin wrote the Origin of Species, several books were published one after another, including Orchid Pollination, Human Origin and Sexual Selection. He finished all these books under the torture of illness.

In June 188 1, 10, 10 Darwin's last book, Earthworms Form Soil, was published.

After Darwin died in 1882, his body was buried in the cemetery of Westminster Abbey in London, together with Newton's tomb. This shows that his great discovery has been widely recognized. He made an indelible contribution to the cause of human science.