The first person I would honour in this category is a no-brainer– Charles Darwin!
Born in 1809, Darwin’s father wanted him to be a doctor, but his interest was always elsewhere–natural sciences.
HMS Beagle
Darwin boarded the ship, HMS Beagle on 27th December 1831. That five-year voyage changed his life, and the future of biology. Observing the mockingbirds (aka Darwin’s finches) on the Galapagos Islands, he wondered why the birds varied in morphology (size and shape) among different islands.
Colating his specimens in England, Darwin, with the help of his friends, discovered that the birds were all different species. This variation in the birds, especially in the beaks, and hence their diet lead Darwin to formulate his theory of natural selection.
Origin of Species
Darwin was not the first to come up with the idea of evolution. However, he was the first to show hard evidence for it, and the first to suggest an accurate mechanism for it.
Publishing his book, “The Origin of Species” in 1859, he received wide range of critics. Although inital reaction was negative, with everyone from fellow scientists to theologians rejecting his ideas, they (including the theologians) later warmed up to his views. His ideas were also promoted upon the discovery of Gregor Mendel’s word on genetics, as this provided ‘factors’ (later known as genes) for features to be inherited.
Why is he on Pop!ular?
For revolutionising modern Biology, Charles Darwin definitely deserves his spot here. To my current (and limited knowledge), his theory of natural selection is probably the earliest scientific theory to still be accepted.
Personally, I find him to be one of the most humblest scientists I ever read about. For example, he listed the flaws of his idea (lack of evidence in certain areas). He was also a brilliant man. He came up with a rough sketch of the tree of life, and years later, scientists are still using it.
