Charles Darwin, Speech Example

Charles Darwin an English naturalist gained fame in his generation as well as afterwards his death. Darwin was born on February 2 in 1809 and died in April 19 1882. His fame arises from his development of the evolutionary theory. Most of his evolutionary theory informs in his book Origin of species first published in 1859. The evolutionary theory advanced by Darwin was that all forms of life descended from a common ancestor (Holder 2004). He proposed that the process of evolution resulted from natural selection where the struggle for existence and had a branching pattern. The evolution theory stems from the work of Charles Darwin and formulates a uniting theory of the life sciences.

Darwin’s interest in nature steered him to abandon his medical career, started to investigate invertebrates, and assisted Robert Edmund Grant. The Voyage of Beagle was Darwin’s first significant expedition in which most of the subsequent work develops. The expedition surveyed and charted the coasts during the expedition and made observations and theoretical speculations throughout the expedition. This expedition established him as a distinguished geologist, and his observations and theories reinforced the uniformitarian ideas of Charles Lyell. He was puzzled by the distribution of wildlife fossils, and he investigated the transmutation of animals to come up with the theory of natural selection (Darwin 2010).

The most noteworthy of Darwin’s publication is the Origin of species, which detailed the evolution theory, which Darwin is better known for. In this book, Darwin gave a logical and detailed explanation behind the theory of evolution. The book was widely popular but attracted controversies on the issue of evolution. Although this book initially attracted controversies, scientists came to accept the theory. In this book, Darwin spoke of shared descent and not on evolution to avoid controversies, but the issue was strongly debated from the moment the book was released.

Holder (2004) provides that Darwin’s other works include evolution by natural selection and common descent. He was also an excellent writer and apart from the origin of species, he published other books including the descent of man, the expression of emotions in man and animals, the power of movement in plants and animals and the formation of vegetable mold through the action of worms. Darwin also made other significant publications that were both published an unpublished.

Darwin’s health suffered because of his overwork and was frequently incapacitated by stomach pains, vomiting, palpitations, and trembling. Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgewood after deliberations on marriage jotted down in his notes in a style of pros and cons. Darwin died of heart failure in 1882, and his last words were an encouragement to his family. Upon his death, Darwin was buried close to Isaac Newton and John Herschel in Westminster Abbey. He was one of only five 19th-century non-royal public figures honored with a state funeral.

Darwin was able to convince many scientists of his evolution theory and his work has had an extensive influence in the field. The importance of his theory is that it explains the origin of man. This theory was later validated by scientists and identifies Darwin as a distinguished scientist. Darwin’s work has been celebrated by numerous event and publications and several other things named after him including animal species and natural features (Bowler 1996).

Reference list

Bowler P. J. Charles. (1996). Darwin: The Man and His Influence. Cambridge University Press

Darwin C. (2010). The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. Bibliolis Books

Holder C F. (2004). Charles Darwin: His Life and Work. Kessinger Publishing.