Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was a British naturalist who developed a theory of evolution based on natural selection. “He suggested that species can change over time, that new species come from pre-existing species, and that all species share a common ancestor.” Throughout his research on the evolution of species, he concluded that only the strongest members of a species survive, along with their best traits. Furthermore, the weaker members do not survive, along with the traits that do not help them survive. Darwin suggested that hereditary traits that help organisms reproduce become more common in the population over time. This is how, gradually, species adapt to the environment and change.
In the 1850s, Darwin wrote a book titled On the Origin of Species, in which he suggested that all living beings have a common ancestor.
Before becoming so interested in evolution, Charles Darwin enjoyed hunting, and it was during the Beagle voyage, a study expedition that took place from 1831 to 1836, that he began observing different species. He noticed a specific pattern in the distribution of organisms on the Galápagos Islands compared to the nearby continent of Ecuador. It was after this expedition that he began gathering the elements that later led him to his theory of evolution and natural selection.