One of the most influential figures in human is Charles Darwin. Darwin has been called the of evolution for his work in evolutionary science. the United States, Darwin has become the symbol atheists in the country as his theory of smacks in the face of creationism. His theory that all of earth’s species have descended from ancestors, and that they have adapted to their throughout history. It also claims that every species a common ancestor. Darwin introduced his theory in landmark book On the Origin of Species in .

His book was met with suspicion from both scientific community and the general public, but by 1870s, his work was beginning to gain mass . One of his most significant studies came when sailed with the HMS Beagle, a British sea , to the Galapagos Islands. The islands have been isolated from the South American mainland, and provided with a unique insight on the process of .

While sailing from island to island, Darwin noticed between island species and mainland species. Most were in many ways, but some had subtle differences. also found that the same species had differences island to island. To Darwin it was clear the reason for the slight differences was the environment of each island. These islands showed Darwin evolution process in the making.

Darwin has many from religious circles. A very famous caricature of depicting him as a half-human monkey was published 1871 in response to his theory that humans from ape-like creatures. He spawned a movement of -believers called Darwinism, which includes people who feel his are rooted in the scientific method as opposed religious dogma.