The originality of the idea behind
one of the great scientific discoveries - Darwin's theory of evolution
- has been questioned by a Cardiff academic. A theory which predates
Charles Darwin's 1859 book, On the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection, has been discovered. An account
of natural selection has been found in a document dated 1794.
Professor Paul Pearson from Cardiff University tracked down the earlier publication (0)__F__
in the National Library of Scotland. In the middle of the second
volume of the 2,000-page account is a chapter on the selection
theory.
Darwin studied in Hutton's home town of Edinburgh, (1)
 .
Professor Pearson said: "There is no question of (2)
. " But it is possible that an
old half-forgotten concept from his student days later resurfaced, as
he struggled to explain his many observations on species and
varieties made (3)
.
"Darwin rightly gets the credit for applying the principle to the transformation of species and assembling the evidence
(4)
."
Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury (5)
to
become a Church of
England clergyman after quitting Edinburgh University. He
became an unpaid naturalist in 1831 on the HMS Beagle for a five-year
scientific expedition to South America. His observation of different
types of finches on the Galapagos Islands --– (6)
–-- helped mould his scientific ideas.
When he returned to England in 1836, Darwin used his knowledge
of the animal and plant life he had seen to try to solve the riddle of (7)
.
He worked on his theory for twenty years, and was prompted to act by a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, ( (8)
.
They published a joint paper, and in 1859 Darwin published the book which wrote his name into history.
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