DARWIN 2009: Charlie We Hardly Knew Ye

It is widely believed that Charles Darwin avoided publishing his theory of evolution for many years. Many explanations have been proposed to identify Darwin's reasons or motives for doing so. John van Wyhe, historian of science at the University of Cambridge, will demonstrate that Darwin's delay is a recent historiographical theme for which there is no clear evidence, and one that is overwhelmingly contradicted by the historical evidence.

John van Wyhe, the founder and director of Darwin Online, will also discuss how Darwin's belief in evolution was not a secret before publication. Instead of a man afraid of his secret theory being revealed to his prejudiced contemporaries, van Wyhe contends that Darwin was “understandably very busy and began his species book when he had completed work in hand, just as he had intended all along. This lecture will therefore rewrite a fundamental chapter in the story of Darwin's life and work as usually told.”

Who

: John van Wyhe, the founder and director of

Darwin Online

What

: “Mind the Gap: Did Darwin Avoid Publishing His Theory for 20 Years?”

When

: Thursday, April 16, 2009, 4 p.m.

Where

: Engineering Research Center, Room 427

Free and open to the public, followed by an open reception.

About the Speaker
John van Wyhe is a Bye-Fellow of Christ’s College (Darwin’s own college) and a member of the British Society for the History of Science. Van Wyhe’s recent research has challenged the long-held view that Darwin held back or kept his theory secret for 20 years. He is publishing three books and numerous shorter items on Darwin for 2009: an edited volume of Darwin’s shorter publications, Darwin’s notebooks from the voyage of the Beagle, a booklet on Darwin in Cambridge and an accessible book on Darwin and evolution.

If you didn't get enough of Darwin and John van Wyhe, check out his talk on Friday at the downtown branch of the

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

. Much of what is commonly accepted as the truth about Charles Darwin isn’t actually true. He did not discover evolution on the Galapagos Islands; Darwin's finches were not the turning point of his research; he did not keep his theory secret for 20 years; he was not trying to undermine religion; and he was not an atheist.

On Friday, April 17, at 4 p.m., van Wyhe will reveal what Darwin really did and said during "Charles Darwin: The True Story" at the Main Library’s Huenefeld Tower Room (800 Vine Street, 3rd Floor).

About the GCCCU
A network of contacts throughout Ohio’s public state universities has been established and many of their events and programs with Darwin and evolution themes are posted and linked from our Web site, as are a number of other events at participating colleges and universities in the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities (GCCCU) and participating community partner organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area. Members of the GCCCU currently include Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University, Thomas More College, the College of Mount Saint Joseph, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

About UC’s Year of Darwin 2009 — Evolution: Evidence & Impact
Throughout our year-long celebration of the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and the sesquicentennial of the On the Origin of Species, we hope to communicate the many contemporary applications of

• Darwin’s theory of evolution by common descent, 
• the breadth of Darwin’s research and its ramifications, 
• the truth of Darwin’s work as a cornerstone of modern science and 
• the multiple applications of evolutionary theory throughout UC research.