Darwin was born February 12, 1809; he published Origin of the Species at age 50. Each year, Darwin’s birthday is celebrated around the world. To find an event in your area, check the "Darwin Day Celebration" web site


Darwin Day Celebration

and a spezial Story

Teach Evolution: Leave No Child Behind

S@h Berkeley's Staff Friends Club m7 ©

Thanks, Sir Ulli. A good reminder. My birthday falls between Darwin's birthday and Valentine's Day. I like to think I got a little osmotic benefit from both.

As you probably know, Darwin also made an important contribution to the understanding of the formation of coral atolls. During his voyage as Naturalist aboard HMS Beagle, he observed these puzzling formations, which were not at all understood in that era, and reasoned out the mechanism by observation alone. He postulated the process of sea-floor subsidence coupled with the upward, shallow-water growth of coral organisms, an insight that has required very little modification in its details over the 150 years since he published on this topic. What a beautiful example of a great intelligence at work synthesizing knowledge from raw, observational data.

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S@h Berkeley's Staff Friends Club m7 ©