Charles Robert Darwin, FRS FRGS FLS FZS^[2] (/ˈdɑːrwɪn/;^[3] 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an Englishnaturalist and geologist,^[4] best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory.^[I] He established that allspecies of life have descended over time from common ancestors,^[5] and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.^[6]

Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species.^[7][8] By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution.^[9][10]In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.^[11][12]

(From Wikipedia, June 2016)