Darwin. Robert Charles

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john sefton
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Darwin. Robert Charles

Post by john sefton » Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:24 pm

Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.
He published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The scientific community and much of the general public came to accept evolution as a fact in his lifetime. However, it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed that natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution.[4] In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.
Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. Studies at the University of Cambridge encouraged his passion for natural science. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.
Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories. Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. In 1871, he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.
In recognition of Darwin's pre-eminence as a scientist, he was one of only five nineteenth-century non-royal personages from the United Kingdom to be honoured by a state funeral, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

For details of the Beagle: http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... f=2&t=9053
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aukepalmhof
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Re: Darwin. Robert Charles

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:09 pm

Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury and died on April 19, 1882 in Downe, England. This English naturalist and paleontologist, whose work revolutionized notions about the evolution of species on earth through natural selection, was famous for his book “Origin of species” published in 1859.
Darwin’s theory demonstrates that all species evolve and adapt to its environment in order to survive. His theory was a profound reversal of scientific, philosophical and even religious thought on the very nature of the human species. Most of his work was based on observation and study during the five-year expedition aboard the ship the HMS Beagle (1831-1836). A voyage around the world during which Darwin made, methodically, a large number of observations, collected all kinds of living or fossilized species, and scrupulously noted each discovery, often unknown until then.
Darwin quickly established a solid reputation among scientists. His findings, which are richly described and analyzed, demonstrate the merits of his work. His travel memoir, originally for his family, was published in 1839 under the title “The voyage of the Beagle”. This book describes each stage of his adventure and provides multiple observations in all fields such as biology, geology, sociology, and anthropology as well on nature, as on the populations encountered.
This journey began with the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and then along the coasts of South America, passing the Strait of Magellan towards the Pacific Ocean (the Galapagos Islands, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania) than the Indian Ocean (Cocos Islands, Maldives, Mauritius) Cape Town, then return by Brazil to England. Arrived in Tahiti on November 15, 1835, the HMS Beagle moored in the bay of Matavai.
Immediately, Darwin noticed the beauty of our coasts and the warm welcome of the Tahitians. The next day, accompanied by Tahitian guides, he went to discover the interior of the island in the valley of Tuā'uru in the commune of Mahina. During his ascent, he will note every detail of the luxuriance of the flora but also the ingenuity and symbiosis of the Polynesians in his environment. Moreover, when he arrived at the summit he discovered in the distance, the island of Moorea and its reef which will give him the idea of the theory of the volcanic origin of the atolls.

Fare Rata, the Polynesia Post Office is honored to commemorate this scientist who changed our vision of the world and whose passage in Polynesia will remain in our memories.

More info on the BEAGLE is given on: viewtopic.php?p=15701#p15701

Source: https://www.tahitiphilatelie.pf/details ... 022&id=402

France Polynesia 2022 500F sg?, Scott?, MS 500F sgMS?, Scott?
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