New Exhibit at the Medical Library

From Natural Theology to Natural Selection: Celebrating the Darwin Bicentenary

On view February 1 to April 17, 2009

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on February 12, 1809, and the 150th anniversary year of his publication of On the Origin of Species, this rare book exhibit surveys the scientific history of evolution by natural selection from seventeenth century natural theology to the integration of natural selection and Mendelian genetics in the “modern synthesis” of the 1940s.

The exhibit features classic works of Linnean taxonomy, comparative anatomy, geology, paleontology, early theories of evolution, and nineteenth century natural theology, all of which formed the background to Darwin’s research. The central section of the exhibit is devoted to Darwin’s career and the development and defense of his transformative evolutionary ideas. With the help of early supporters, Darwin convinced most intellectuals within a generation of the reality of evolution. But even after the rediscovery of Mendel’s classic paper in 1900, most scientists preferred other evolutionary mechanisms to Darwin’s natural selection. Evolution by natural selection did not prevail until the 1940s. Exhibit prepared by Toby Appel, Librarian for Medical History.