Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was born in England on December 12, 1731. He was a physicist, poet, philosopher, botanist and naturalist. He was one of the first scientists to propose the idea of evolution. He published this in his book "Zoonomia". He proposed that all warm-blooded animals came from one common ancestor. Although he did not widely spread theses ideas, he influenced his grandson, Charles on his views. He died on April 18, 1802.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace was born on January 8, 1823 in Wales. His family fell on hard times, and as a result couldn't afford his education. so he learned mostly from reading books. He became a land surveyor. Spending all his time outdoors gave him an interest in geology and botany. And after meeting a young entomologist in a library, he traveled to South America and Asia to study animals. He acquired many specimens and took many notes on what he saw. But tragically, on the voyage home, his ship sank along with all of the specimens and notes. But this did not stop him, as he continued to gather evidence for natural selection, and in 1858, he sent an essay to Charles Darwin, which, much to Darwin's surprise, contained the same theory as him. Later that year, they presented the theory together, but much of the credit is given to Darwin. Alfred Russel Wallace died on November 7, 1913.
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Jean Baptiste Lamarck was born in France, on August 1, 1744. He joined the army at seventeen years old, and after a battle that saw his company get reduced to fourteen men, and with no officers, Lamarck accepted command. And after a great display of loyalty and courage, he was promoted to officer on the spot. But after an accident that hurt his neck, he was decommissioned from the army. He then went on to study natural sciences. He published his most famous book "Philosophie Zoologique". In this book he proposed a mechanism for evolution, the first person to do so. His theory was called "Inheritance Of Acquired Characteristics", or the "Use-Disuse Theory". The basis behind this theory was that if an organism uses a structure a lot and so do its ancestors, over time that structure will develop better. His example of this was giraffes. He said that giraffes started out with short necks, but the constant use and stretching of them caused the necks to grow longer and those giraffes to pass the long neck onto their offspring. And the disuse of an organ would cause it to disappear, such as how snakes lost their legs.This theory was ultimately wrong, but it really changed peoples thinking and ideas. Lamarck died on December 18, 1829.
Erasmus Darwin was born in England on December 12, 1731. He was a physicist, poet, philosopher, botanist and naturalist. He was one of the first scientists to propose the idea of evolution. He published this in his book "Zoonomia". He proposed that all warm-blooded animals came from one common ancestor. Although he did not widely spread theses ideas, he influenced his grandson, Charles on his views. He died on April 18, 1802.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace was born on January 8, 1823 in Wales. His family fell on hard times, and as a result couldn't afford his education. so he learned mostly from reading books. He became a land surveyor. Spending all his time outdoors gave him an interest in geology and botany. And after meeting a young entomologist in a library, he traveled to South America and Asia to study animals. He acquired many specimens and took many notes on what he saw. But tragically, on the voyage home, his ship sank along with all of the specimens and notes. But this did not stop him, as he continued to gather evidence for natural selection, and in 1858, he sent an essay to Charles Darwin, which, much to Darwin's surprise, contained the same theory as him. Later that year, they presented the theory together, but much of the credit is given to Darwin. Alfred Russel Wallace died on November 7, 1913.
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Jean Baptiste Lamarck was born in France, on August 1, 1744. He joined the army at seventeen years old, and after a battle that saw his company get reduced to fourteen men, and with no officers, Lamarck accepted command. And after a great display of loyalty and courage, he was promoted to officer on the spot. But after an accident that hurt his neck, he was decommissioned from the army. He then went on to study natural sciences. He published his most famous book "Philosophie Zoologique". In this book he proposed a mechanism for evolution, the first person to do so. His theory was called "Inheritance Of Acquired Characteristics", or the "Use-Disuse Theory". The basis behind this theory was that if an organism uses a structure a lot and so do its ancestors, over time that structure will develop better. His example of this was giraffes. He said that giraffes started out with short necks, but the constant use and stretching of them caused the necks to grow longer and those giraffes to pass the long neck onto their offspring. And the disuse of an organ would cause it to disappear, such as how snakes lost their legs.This theory was ultimately wrong, but it really changed peoples thinking and ideas. Lamarck died on December 18, 1829.