Given that today’s the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, I’ve just delved into the Spectator’s archives to see what we said about the great man on the occasion of his death in April 1882. I’ve typed out the whole obituary below for the benefit of CoffeeHousers and for the sake of posterity:
By the death of Charles Darwin, which occurred on Wednesday, England has lost the most original, as well asfar the most celebrated, of modern men of science – the one man whom European Science would, with one voice, probably agree to consider as the most eminent scientific thinker and writer of the present century. No man of our century has changed so vitally the scientific beliefs of our day, and not the scientific beliefs only, but, whether rightly or wrongly – we should ourselves say more wrongly than rightly – those deeper beliefs which must always be more or less affected by the scientific hypotheses most closely connected with them.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in