Autobiographies: Charles Darwin and T.H. Huxley (Oxford Paperbacks)

Charles Robert Darwin, born in 1809, was an English naturalist who founded the theory of Darwinism, the belief in evolution as determined by natural selection. Although Darwin studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and then studied at Cambridge University to become a minister, he had been interested in natural history all his life. His show more grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was a noted English poet, physician, and botanist who was interested in evolutionary development. Darwin's works have had an incalculable effect on all aspects of the modern thought. Darwin's most famous and influential work, On the Origin of Species, provoked immediate controversy. Darwin's other books include Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Charles Darwin died in 1882. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

T. H. (Thomas Henry) Huxley, an English biologist born in London in 1825, was regarded as one of the leading scientists in England by the age of 26. His fame arose primarily from his support of Charles Darwin and Darwin's theory of evolution. Huxley's book Man's Place in Nature, published in 1873, added an anthropological perspective to Darwin's show more theory; in fact, this book was the first to advocate the idea that anthropoid apes are the closest relatives to humans. Huxley's other scientific interests included comparative anatomy and paleontology. His writings were extensive. On the topic of biology he wrote both from the scientific view and to popularize the subject. Huxley's other books were on education, philosophy, ethics, and theology. His grandson, Aldous Huxley, would later make significant contributions to English literature as well. T.H. Huxley died in 1895. (Bowker Author Biography) show less