X-Nico

History of invertebrate paleozoology

The provocative Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844 to 1853) by then-anonymous Robert Chambers, Alfred Russel Wallace's joint essay (1858) with Charles Darwin, and Darwin's Origin of Species (1859 to 1872) popularized the evolutionary theories of natural selection.

Thomas Archer Hirst

We know, for example, what the effect was of his reading the Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, that epoch-making book authored anonymously by Robert Chambers which promoted the idea of evolution in 1844.

Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

He concluded that "It does not meddle with revealed religion—but unless I am mistaken the leaders of revealed religion will meddle with it." Lord Morpeth thought it had "much that is able, startling, striking" and progressive development did not conflict with Genesis more than then current geology, but did "not care much for the notion that we are engendered by monkeys" and objected strongly to the idea that the Earth was "a member of a democracy" of similar planets.

•

During the crucial early months of the debate this and Hume's lecture distributed as a pamphlet were the only responses to Vestiges published by the established clergy, and there were just two other short works opposing it: a published lecture by the Anabaptist preacher John Sheppard, and an unorthodox anti-science piece by Samuel Richard Bosanquet.

•

The most authoritative scientific and literary weekly was the Athenaeum, and its anonymous review of 4 January was by Edwin Lankester.

see also