Abstract
ISTINGUISHED men of science have, before now, been commemorated on postage stamps by countries sufficiently civilized to value their achievements, but it does not appear that any particular event in the history of science has hitherto been celebrated in this way. It has been left to the Republic of Ecuador to mark, by the issue of a special series of stamps, the centenary of a critical point in the development of the evolution theory. It was on September 16, 1835, that Darwin first landed on Chatham Island in the Galapagos group, where, as he wrote in his “Journal of Researches”, “we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact?that mystery of mysteries?the first appearance of new beings on this earth”. The influence of what he saw there on the later development of his thought is now a commonplace of biological teaching, al- though some modern writers on evolution might be well advised to read again his own account of his observations and the conclusions to which he was led.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CALMAN, W. Centenary of Darwin's Visit to the Galapagos Islands: Issue of Commemorative Stamps by Ecuador. Nature 138, 15–16 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138015a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138015a0