In the year 1859, Charles Darwin, a doctor’s son, shook the world with the publication of a book. The book, titled, On the Origin of Species, claimed with supporting evidence that plants and animals evolved from earlier forms and are still evolving. Darwin’s work opposed the belief that animals and plants were created as we see them today.
His theory of evolution is based on the idea of natural selection. Though the members of a species have many similarities, each one is slightly different from the other. The differences that some members possess help them survive by competing with the others. And the traits that helped them survive are passed on to their offspring.
Darwin observed the differences between the finches on various Pacific Islands and studied fossil records. The concept of natural selection came to him after reading an essay by Thomas Malthus in which Malthus said that animals compete to survive. Darwin realised that such a competition can explain the evolution of animals.
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