Description

This 2009 commemorative £2 coin celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'On the Origin of Species'.

Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors and, in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.

Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact.

Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.