1-158-148 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Charles Darwin, English naturalist, 1875. Darwin (1809-1882) was employed as naturalist on HMS Beagle from 1831-1836. He first made his name as a geologist, but is remembered for his momentous contributions to biology - primarily his demonstration that evolution has occurred and his discovery of the principle of natural selection of heritable variation as the cause of evolution. His famous book Origin of Species was published in 1859. In this cartoon from Punch, Darwin is portrayed with his head superimposed on the body of a monkey, referring to the controversy raging at the time over Darwin's theory that man is descended from apes. It also refers to his The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants, published in 1875, which was an expansion of a paper which appeared in the Journal of the Linnean Society in 1865.