Charles Darwin in 1868, photographed by Margaret Cameron

In 1868, on the Isle of Wight (renowned for its dinosaur fossils), the talented photographer Julia Margaret Cameron took the picture of Charles Darwin you see here. Today is his birthday. Were he alive today, he’d be 200 years old. One can imagine that his beard would be all the longer and whiter and his head all the balder, but there would certainly still be that intense light of inquisitiveness in his eyes.

It is amazing to think of all that has come from Darwin’s seminal work, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. (N.B.: “Races” here does not refer to anything even remotely racist. Darwin was, in fact, a passionate abolitionist who detested slavery. In the book’s context, ‘races’ refers to “variations within species” [T.O.].) Darwin kick-started a revolution in science that led, and continues to lead, to an ever-broadening knowledge of life. He was tireless in his pursuit of understanding, and his works reflect his immense intelligence and insight. The life sciences owe him an eternal debt and, by extension, we all do. As Theodosius Dobzhansky said: “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. Modern medicine relies heavily on the theory of evolution. Our understanding of viruses would be impoverished were it not for the leads provided by the theory of evolution.

Yet, Darwin would be astonished to learn about genes and genetic drift. He had no real way of knowing about genetics in his own day, though the necessary technical developments were not too far in the future. He would probably smile mirthfully to see how his theory had evolved, and I’ve no doubt that the modern synthesis would have greatly intrigued him.

Happy Birthday to you, Charles Darwin! I salute you and honor you this day and all this year.

As for you, dear reader, be sure to check out Darwin Day Celebration, Origins, and Darwin 200. And if those aren’t enough to leave you sated, I’m sure there’s plenty more you can find to read.