Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist whose theory of evolution by natural selection fundamentally changed the scientific understanding of life on Earth.
Darwin developed his theory following a five-year voyage aboard the HMS Beagle beginning in 1831, during which he studied wildlife and geology across South America and the Galapagos Islands, observing variations among species that led him to question fixed species theory.
He waited over 20 years to publish his ideas, aware of their controversial nature, finally releasing On the Origin of Species in 1859, which proposed that species evolve over time through natural selection.
Darwin's theory faced significant religious and scientific opposition initially but became the cornerstone of modern biology, and evolutionary theory remains one of the most well-supported frameworks in science today.