Charles Darwin, whose 1859 work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection introduced the notions of evolution of life's diversity and of natural selection by the "survival of the fittest." His other most noted title, The Descent of Man (1871) dealt with the development of human culture among other topics. The work of geologists had already established the immense age of the earth and thus of the universe; Darwin's theory of evolution was quickly accepted by the general public. Accepting natural selection as the main mechanism of evolution took longer and the debate over the role of chance in evolution remains open.

Darwin, Evolution, Origin of Species, natural selection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution (full article)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_evolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_genetics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin's_religious_views

http://www.issr.org.uk/darwin-religion.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_life


Cosmology, Big Bang

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Big_Bang