Page 172 - (DK) How to be a GENIUS?

Charles

Darwin

English naturalist Charles Darwin revolutionizedd
the way we see the living world. His theory of
evolution by natural selection showed that
competition for scarce resources led to species
changing constantly through “the survival of the
fittest.” Published in 1859, the theory was a flash
Darwin was only 23 when he embarked on of genius backed up by a mass of evidence—the
the voyage that was to change his life and
inspire his revolutionary theory. product of inspiration and a lot of hard work.

Distracted student
Born in England in 1809, Darwin went
re
rea
a
rw
rw
e
n
D
’
s
g
rw
i
n
l
i
u
b
ed
ed
s
h
p
theory
eo
ea
t
wa
s
ry
w
Wh
When Darwin’s great theory was published,
to the University of Cambridge to study Wh en Darwin’s great t h eo ry was published ,
“ “
for the church, but he was much more his friend T. H. Huxley said, How extremely
ey
ey
s
a
i
l
u
H
.
x
H
h
re
tre
xtr
m
y
el
el
H
,
d
o
ex
ext
w
n
fr
T.
d
s
T.
i
i
ri
e
fr
fr
interested in studying nature. He became
m
n
p
h
o
t!
f
t
friends with John Stevens Henslow, a stupid of me not to have thought of that! ” ”
e
g
t
h
t!
o
d
u
i
o
a
u
t
s
to
a
f
h
to
o
t
t
h
stupid of me not to have thought of that!
ve
ve
professor of botany, and Adam Sedgwick,
one of the founders of modern geology.
In 1831, he was on a geology field trip with
Sedgwick when Henslow suggested that
he join the survey ship HMS Beagle as The Beagle
“ship’s naturalist” on an expedition to voyage
chart the coastline of South America.
The voyage lasted five
years, and while the crew
charted the coastal waters,
Darwin spent most of his
time on land. He explored
South America, where he
found fossils of giant extinct
animals. He visited the
Galápagos Islands, where
he saw that the animals on
neighboring islands were
similar but slightly different.
He wondered if they might have
The Beagle was a small, cramped ship that
had to be virtually rebuilt to survive the
changed over time—or evolved.
roughest seas on Earth.
Natural selection
Within one year of his return in 1836, Darwin was thinking
about how animals might evolve. He realized that if food
is difficult to find, animals that are less well equipped to
find it tend to starve, while more favored animals flourish.
These Hawaiian honeycreepers all species by a process that Darwin called natural selection.
evolved from the same ancestor
Since all animals are slightly different from their parents,
through natural selection.
some are born with advantages that help them survive in
particular environments. This leads to the evolution of new
170
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.