A CENTURY OF PROGRESS 149
its ancestors. Meanwhile, those
ancestors may remain the same,
or they may evolve in response to
their own changing environment,
or they may lose the struggle for
survival and become extinct.
Aftermath
Faced with such a thorough,
reasoned, evidence-based
exposition of evolution by natural
selection, most scientists soon
accepted Darwin’s concept of
“survival of the fittest.” Darwin’s
book was careful to avoid any
mention of humans in connection
with evolution, other than the
single sentence, “Light will be
shed on the origin of man, and
his history.” However, there were
protests from the Church, and the
clear implication that humans had
evolved from other animals was
ridiculed in many quarters.
Darwin, as ever avoiding the
limelight, remained engrossed in
his studies at Down House. As
controversy mounted, numerous
scientists sprang to his defense.
The biologist Thomas Henry Huxley
was vociferous in supporting the
theory—and arguing the case for
human descent from apes—and
dubbed himself “Darwin’s bulldog.”
However, the mechanism by which
inheritance occurred—how and
why some traits are passed on,
others not—remained a mystery.
Coincidentally, at the same time
that Darwin published his book, a
monk named Gregor Mendel was
experimenting with pea plants in
Brno (in the present-day Czech
Republic). His work on inherited
characteristics, reported in 1865,
formed the basis of genetics, but
was overlooked by mainstreamThis cartoon ridiculing Darwin
appeared in 1871, the year in which
he applied his theory of evolution to
humans—something he had been
careful to avoid in earlier works.I think I have found out
(here’s presumption!) the
simple way by which species
become exquisitely adapted
to various ends.
Charles Darwinscience until the 20th century,
when new discoveries in genetics
were integrated into evolutionary
theory, providing a mechanism for
heredity. Darwin’s principle of
natural selection remains key to
understanding the process. ■