How long did it take biologists to adopt the theory of evolution?
score:2
Charles Darwin died in 1882 but his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, actually proposed a theory of evolution in 1770. Charles was strongly influenced by his scientific grandfather.
Thomas Henry Huxley coined 'Darwinism' in 1860. A scientific definition of Darwinism is taken from 'Life' book - Nature Library - Evolution. The full title of Darwin's first book states his own definition; On The Origin Of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. His second book was, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871).
But Darwin did not know about DNA and the role of genes, so evolutionary theory today has... evolved accordingly!
In 1856 Austrian monk Gregor Johann Mendel launched the first of a series of experiments that were to demonstrate that inheritance, like evolution, is not a chaos or chance, or miracle, but a matter of law. Darwin never heard of Mendel's work, and the monk's reports lay ignored by the scientific world for decades.
Others contributed to the development of evolutionary theory. Hugo de Vries (d. 1935) developed the first mutation theory through extensive studies of the evening primrose. He thought he had formed new species through mutations. (He had actually identified segregated characters, not mutations but his work provided a platform on which to build.) De Vries discovered the import of Mendel's work and, in a paper read before the German Botanical Society in 1900, he gave Mendel full credit for one of the most momentous discoveries in scientific history.
It did not take long for Darwin's take on evolutionary theory to be adopted, but it has been constantly adapted! There is not a whole lot of Darwin's original interpretation still in vogue today, due to on-going adaptations that take into consideration new discoveries. Darwinian theory started off a change in direction regarding scientific beliefs about the origins of species, which was quickly and enthusiastically accepted by many, but what we have today has evolved significantly from his (and his grandfather's) initial thinking. But given that Thomas Henry Huxley coined 'Darwinism' in 1860, your textbook quote has reason to claim general acceptance within a decade.
However, there were many who did not agree with the new 'Darwinism'. It was by no means universally accepted within a decade of Darwin's first book being published. It's likely, however, that the clamour of excitement generated by this new enthusiasm received much coverage in the media of the day, so that it would appear that virtually the whole scientific world was running after the idea.
EDIT - This compilation is partly from 'Life' series - Nature Library - 'Evolution' by Ruth Moore and The Editors of LIFE, 1964, published by Time-Life Int. It is also partly from a paper on the subject of Evolution that I put together a few years ago. I am a published author myself, but not on this subject, and my own document is just one in my own private collection.
More post
- 📝 Has there been significant progress in our knowledge of the Aztecs and/or Maya since the '60s?
- 📝 Latin/Greek for assassin
- 📝 Which historical figures are remembered for actions contradictory to their intentions?
- 📝 Why weren't Australian Aborigines enslaved?
- 📝 Did Reagan really conspire to drop oil prices?
- 📝 Dunkirk Little ship requisition documents
- 📝 Why were there civil wars in Croatia and Bosnia, but not in Slovenia or Macedonia?
- 📝 How much did it cost to maintain Gustavus Adolphus' army? How much of it was paid by Richelieu?
- 📝 Can I get my hands on a translation of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's manuscript?
- 📝 Is there a relationship between Portugal and Spain being able to discover the New World and the Moor occupation?
- 📝 What was the inheritance tax rate in the UK during WWI and WWII?
- 📝 Military intervention in government in India and Pakistan
- 📝 How was law enforcement handled in large US cities before professional police?
- 📝 How to translate runic text not knowing the origin?
- 📝 Before the advent of agriculture, was the whole world covered with forest?
- 📝 What do historians infer about the world view of the ancient Egyptians based on the prophecy of Neferty?
- 📝 Is there any evidence that Assyrian or Babylonian kings ate their enemies?
- 📝 why were animals domesticated? (for meat and fur)
- 📝 Has there ever been litigation over a salvaged shipwreck between a European country and a former ex-colony?
- 📝 What regions worldwide have not been conquered or colonized by nations recursively located in land once ruled by someone born in Belgium?
- 📝 When was the concept of electoral districts / constituencies with their own borders (as opposed to pre-existing towns/counties) invented?
- 📝 When did the Running of the Bulls begin?
- 📝 Does the leather strap often depicted on a Pith helmets serve a purpose, or is it purely cosmetic?
- 📝 What was the world population around 970 BC? Does it fit the biblical narrative?
- 📝 How did the Romans build straight roads that stretched very long distances?
- 📝 Where did Asian Americans go to school during the 'separate but equal' era?
- 📝 Why was John Paul Jones pardoned in Whitehaven in 1999?
- 📝 Perception of the state by an average person in pre-modern times
- 📝 Who started trams in Delhi?
- 📝 What was the ancestor of VAT called?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How long did it take biologists to adopt the theory of evolution?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for Europeans to adopt the moldboard plow?
- 📝 How long did it take for a diplomat to travel between Berlin and Vienna in the 1770's?
- 📝 How long did it take to get news of the sighting of the Spanish Armada from Land’s End to London?
- 📝 How long did it take for a letter to arrive in England in the 1830s?
- 📝 How long did it take to build siege engines in the middle ages?
- 📝 How long did it take to copy a Bible during the early propagation of the Christian faith?
- 📝 How long did it take the Thule people to migrate from Alaska to Greenland?
- 📝 How long did it take to repair wooden war ships after battle in the 1600's to 1800's?
- 📝 How long did it take to sail from Philadelphia to Boston in the 1700s?
- 📝 How long did Jews in hiding take to reveal themselves at the end of WW2? What was their reception?
- 📝 How long would it take to cross the Channel in 1890's?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for the Germans to develop the first tank model in World War I?
- 📝 How long does it take to craft the kinds of armour worn by typical medieval warriors in europe?
- 📝 How long, historically speaking, did it take to tally and report the vote?
- 📝 How long would it take to travel from England to western Africa in the late 1890's?
- 📝 How did the "Standard Model" physics theory get that name?
- 📝 How long would it take to travel from the United Kingdom to America in 1890?
- 📝 How long did it take mail to get between Madrid and Mexico?
- 📝 How long did it take US fleet submarines during World War 2 to charge their batteries?
- 📝 How long would it take to travel from England to the colonies in the early 1700s?
- 📝 How did the Romans build straight roads that stretched very long distances?
- 📝 How long did belief in the Egyptian sun god Ra last?
- 📝 How long did it take approximately for a person to travel from Basel to Hanover (1753) by any means of transport?
- 📝 How did the French take the Republican Calendar?
- 📝 How much time did people have to take shelter during the Blitz in 1940-41?
- 📝 How long did it take to build earth dikes with low-tech tools?
- 📝 How long did it take to make a 16th century arrow?
- 📝 How long did Adolf Hitler serve on the front lines as an infantryman in WWI before becoming a courier?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for humanity to be able to cross the oceans?