The year 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On The Origin of Species. The University of Cincinnati is marking these anniversaries with a year-long celebration of Darwin’s life and work. This series on the life of Charles Darwin is part of the celebration.
The first edition of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” had an initial run of 1,250 copies and was made available to the public on November 24, 1859. Much to the delight (and surprise) of publisher John Murray, all 1,250 copies sold on the first day. Eager to gather maximum benefit from its popularity, Murray immediately arranged for the publication of 3,000 copies of a second edition. Darwin completed minor revisions to the book during December, and the second edition was published on January 7, 1860. Between 1861 and 1872 Darwin would revise the book four more times, including the addition of a new chapter in the sixth edition addressing various criticisms of natural selection.
Discussion of the scientific validity and social ramifications of descent with modification began almost immediately (following publication) and continued hotly throughout the 1860’s. Scientists like Adam Sedgwick and Richard Owen, brought up in the tradition of natural theology, fretted over Darwin’s removal of a divine prime mover. Meanwhile, Anglican clergy worried that the purely naturalistic construct of selection would lower moral standards. The public defense of natural selection was fronted primarily by a small group of Darwin confidants, including Joseph Hooker and naturalist John Lubbock. The most ardent and aggressive advocate of the Darwinian view of life, however, was anatomist/zoologist Thomas Henry Huxley. Huxley, famously known as “Darwin’s bulldog,” relentlessly attacked critics (Richard Owen in particular) both in print and during lectures. Charles himself, while closely following reaction to his idea, generally stayed out of the fray.
Darwin, continuing to struggle with poor health, remained isolated in the embracing care of Emma and the solitude of Down House. As always, however, Darwin’s “solitude” was a solitude of observation and experimentation. Between bouts of nausea, vomiting and month-long therapeutic vacations, Charles managed to produce two major works between 1860 and 1870. The first, “Fertilization in Orchids” (published in 1862), described Darwin’s inquiries and inferences on the effect of pollinator behavior on the fertility of orchids and on the complex shape of orchid flowers. The second, “Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication” (published in 1868), demonstrated the power of selective breeding in livestock, crops, and other domesticated species. It also detailed Darwin’s erroneous hypothesis of inheritance, an idea he called “pangenesis.” Through it all his surviving children grew and made their own lives. By the fall of 1871, only Elizabeth remained at Down.
While Darwin pollinated orchids and thought about inheritance in livestock, colleagues Charles Lyell and T. H. Huxley were tackling the question of the origin and evolution of humans. In “Man’s Place in Nature” (1862), Huxley drew parallels between human and gorilla anatomy to claim an ape-like ancestor for modern humans. This view was also shared by Darwin. Lyell’s work, “The Antiquity of Man” (1863), argued for an ancient lineage for man but stopped short of linking him directly to a non-human ancestor. On this point, Darwin was rather disappointed. He had hoped that Lyell would incorporate natural selection into his discussion of human ancestry. But Lyell was unwilling to consider man as anything other than divinely created. Following the publication of “Variation Under Domestication,” Darwin too turned his attention to the matter of human origins.
There are several outstanding biographies of Charles Darwin readily available to the public. The definitive biography is a two volume work by E. Janet Browne titled Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place. Darwin: the Life of a Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond and James Moore is also highly regarded. For a shorter biography of Darwin try The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen.