The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin

In July 2008, the world celebrated the 150th anniversary of one of the great milestones in the history of science.  At a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on 1st July 1858 papers from Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were presented that outlined, for the first time, the theory of evolution by natural selection.  February 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and November 2009 the 150th anniversary of the publication of his seminal work On the Origin of Species. At this time of special anniversaries, the Linnean Society of London is actively contributing to events being hosted internationally to celebrate both the central importance of evolutionary biology to the understanding of life on Earth and the life and legacy of Charles Darwin.

Special events include:

"Darwin's 'Sacred Cause'", a lecture by Jim Moore FLS on 19th March 2009; "The 'irritable power' of carnivorous plants: Mary Treat, Charles Darwin and floral metaphors in the evolutionary narrative", a lecture organised by Dawn Sanders FLS on 17th September 2009; "The Poetry of Science: Creative writing and the artistic naturalist", a lecture by Kelley Swain, author of Darwin's Microscope, on 5th November 2009; and "The Galapagos Archipelago: a living laboratory", a scientific meeting organised by Sandra Knapp FLS, Sarah Darwin FLS and the Galapagos Conservation Trust on 17th November 2009.

Follow the links below for more information about the celebrations:

• Darwin 200
  A collaboration of organisations across the UK who are celebrating Darwin’s 200th birthday

• Darwin, Wallace and the Linnean Society
  More information on the joint paper by Darwin and Wallace: “On the Variation of Organic Beings in a state of Nature; on the Natural Means of Selection; on the Comparison of Domestic Races and true Species"

• The Darwin-Wallace Medal
  A commemorative medal, awarded on the 50th, 100th and now the 150th anniversary of the reading of the Darwin-Wallace paper

• The Linnean Special Issue Number 9 - Survival of the Fittest: Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution
  A special issue of the Linnean Society newsletter

• Darwin and Wallace in The Linnean
  A selection of articles from the Linnean Society newsletter

• Linnean Society Events
  The programme of events for 2009, including Darwin celebrations

• The Wallace Collection at the Natural History Museum
  A remarkable selection of digitised letters, notes, articles and even some of the insect specimens that Alfred Russel Wallace collected on his travels

• Darwin, Evolution and the Movies Film Festival 2009
  A inspired film festival showing from 20th to 28th November 2009