Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln.  Yes, these two important people were born on the same day in the same year, February 12, 1809.  One would go on to explain how humans evolved as part of nature, and the other would go on to help heal a nation.

Darwin as a young man.

Around the world there are celebrations, seminars, and projects marking Darwin’s 200th.  In some cases, the event has been ongoing, and serves as one of the most important milestones in the history of science.  This year also marks the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s publication: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.  Here are some resources that you might find very interesting.

Lincoln’s birthday has been celebrated for many years, and in some states it is a legal holiday. The earliest observance of Lincoln’s birthday appears to have been in 1874.

Darwin and Lincoln were both revolutionaries in the sense that Darwin fundamentally changed the nature of biological science, and Lincoln led a country out a civil war, and abolished slavery.  Both men had a lot of things in common.  Malcolm Jones, in a Newsweek article, has an interesting article comparing and contrasting the two men.  Here is one of Jones’ thoughts about Darwin and Lincoln:

Perhaps the most mysterious aspect of this riddlesome man (Lincoln) was just how he managed, somewhere along the way, to turn himself into one of the best prose writers America has produced. Lincoln united the North behind him with an eloquence so timeless that his words remain fresh no matter how many times you read them. Darwin wrote one of the few scientific treatises, maybe the only one, worth reading as a work of literature. Both of them demand to be read in the original, not in paraphrase, because both men are so much in their prose. To read them is to know these elusive figures a little better. Given their influence on our lives, these are men you want to know.

Resources

Darwin Day Celebration

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online

The HMS Beagle Project: Darwin 200

The Linnean Society of London: The 200th Anniversary of Charles Darwin’s Birth

A Speech on Darwin’s Sacred Cause at the Linnean Society of London

Who was more important, Darwin or Lincoln? by Malcolm Jones, July, 2008.

Darwin and Lincoln, Defining Moments

Abraham Lincoln