Erasmus Darwin
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Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), was an English physician, natural philosopher, physiologist, inventor and poet. He was one of the founding members of the Lunar Society, a discussion group of pioneering industrialists and natural philosophers. His more famous grandsons were Charles Darwin and Francis Galton, though the latter may or may not be more infamous. He developed a theory of evolution,[notes 1] which, though similar to Lamarckism,[notes 2] probably inspired Charles's thoughts on the subject. His first name, Erasmus, is after the Dutch Humanist philosopher of that name. As a Freemason, he is frequently attacked by Conspiracy Theorists who believe the Theory of Evolution was inspired by Masonic philosophy.
Other achievements[edit]
- Inventing the horizontal windmill,[notes 3] a speaking machine and an artificial bird.
- Campaigning against slavery.
- Making a sketch of a liquid-fueled rocket.
- Customizing a table with a semicircle cutout, which his being enormously fat necessitated.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ In his Zoonomia and the posthumously published Temple of nature he postulated that animals and plants developed from simpler forms.
- ↑ His version was in fact proposed before Lamarck's, but renaming Lamarckism Darwinism would be far too confusing, and "Erasmism" would be unlikely to catch on for other reasons.
- ↑ According to Wikipedia
anyway...
External links[edit]