EVOLUTION (by: Jonah Pearce, Lillie Chapin, Kim Brunney)

(Evolution) Linnaeus

Jan 1, 1735

Linnaeus divided life into catgories and subcategories, a precursor to Darwin's Tree of Life. Linnaeus sperated life into kongdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species. Linnaeus, however, believed that each living thing was not the effect of evolution, but was instead made by God's intent.

EVOLUTION

Period: Jan 1, 1735 to Jan 1, 2001

WORLD EVENTS

Period: Jan 1, 1735 to Sep 11, 2001

(Evolution) Comte De Buffon

Feb 2, 1749

Comte De Buffon was a proponent of the idea that living creatures evolve according to natural laws-not by an act of God. De Buffon also suggested that humans and apes were related, and that all life came from a single ancestor. He was later forced to recant.

(World Events) Beginning of the American Revolution

Apr 19, 1775

American farmers battled with British soldiers at the battles of Lexington and Concord, starting the American Revolution.

(Evolution) Zoonomia

Mar 3, 1794

Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandfather, stated in his book Zoonomia that all warm-blooded animals came from a common ancestor.

(Evolution) Lamarck [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Apr 4, 1809

The naturalist Lamarck publishes his belief that living things become more complex over time, and recieve traits depending on how they are used in their environments.

(Evolution) Cuvier [IF HE'D KNOWN]

May 5, 1817

Cuvier attempted to explain mass extinctions by describing great floods and earthquakes. He also stated that life did not evolve into their present forms.

(Evolution) Lyell [INFLUENTIAL]

Jun 6, 1830

Lyell believed that slow processes could explain geology. He later became mentor to Charles Darwin.

(Evolution) Beagle Voyage [INFLUENTIAL]

Jul 7, 1831

This trip changed Darwin's ideas. He is now commited to discovering nature's laws.

(Evolution) Lord Kelvin

Aug 8, 1846

William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) estimates the world is roughly 100 million years ol. He later changes it to 20 to 400 million years old.

(Evolution) Wallace [INFLUENTIAL]

Oct 10, 1858

Wallace has a similar theory to how animals evolve. Without this competition Darwin might have never published his findings.

(Evolution) Origin of Species [INFLUENTIAL]

Sep 9, 1859

Darwin's book is very influential and offers a theory for evolution with "natural selection". Darwin stresses that his work does not deny God.

Civil War

Apr 12, 1861

The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865. It was fought between the Union "North" and the Southern slave states. It is the deadliest war in American history, that resulted in 750,000 deaths.

(World Events) Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

Apr 14, 1865

President Abraham Lincoln is assassinted at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth. Nearing the end of the Civil War Booth was an angry southerner looking to avenge the South.

(Evolution) Mendel [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Nov 11, 1865

Mendel publishes a paper showing how traits are passed down in "units". In the 1860's this discovery goes unnoticed.

(Evolution) Descent of Man [INFLUENTIAL]

Dec 12, 1871

Darwin's new book stresses the importance of "sexual selection". To pass traits on you must be fit to survive and irresistible to the opposite sex.

(Evolution) Horse Fossils [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Jan 13, 1876

Huxley visits a fossil hunter at Yale. Using fossils he has found, they piece together the evolution to the modern horse.

(Evolution) Radioactivity

Feb 14, 1896

Antoine Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity in 1896. This discovery lead to a system of rock-dating determining the Earth to be more than 4.3 billion years old.

(World Events) First Flight

Dec 17, 1903

The Wright brothers make the first successful airplane fight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight only lasted 12 seconds and they flew a total of 120 feet.

(World Events) World War 1

Jul 28, 1914

World War 1also known as "The Great War" started in 1914 and lasted until 1918. It was a major war fought between the Central Powers and the Allies. By the time the war ended more than 37 million lives had been lost.

(World Events) World War 2

Sep 1, 1939

A global war, including all of the great powers, that started in 1939 and ended in 1945. It resulted in 50 to 73 million deaths. It is by far the deadliest conflict in human history.

(Evolution) NeoDarwinism [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Mar 15, 1940

Scientists determine that mutations cause changes in an organisms traits, spread through the population and affect natural selection. THis is the updated version of Darwins theory and explains the diversity in living things.

(Evolution) DDT

Apr 16, 1945

DDt is used in repelants to combat mosquito bites that cause malaria. Many insects begin to resist the repelant.

(Evolution) DNA

May 17, 1953

The most important event of the twentieth century was the discovery that DNA had a double helix structure.This discovery allowed scientist to find what genes are and how they work.

(World Events) Vietnam War

Nov 1, 1955

The Vietnam war began in 1955 and ended in 1975. It was a war between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam, whose ally was the US. The war cost over 3 million lives to be lost and ended when communist forces seized Saigon.

(World History) JFK Assassination

Nov 22, 1963

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States was assassinated 12:30 pm Central Standard time in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas.

(Evolution) Humans and Apes

Jun 18, 1967

Sarich and Wilson find DNA evidence showing humans are closely related to apes. In 1971 Wilson and King estimated humans and apes share over 98%of their genes.

(World History) Apollo 11

Jul 20, 1969

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on the moon. Armstrong spent 6 hours on the moon collecting lunar samples.

(Evolution) DNA Codes [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Jul 19, 1990

New technology makes DNA sequencing much easier, in turn making it easier to observe how organisms have changed and evolved over the years.

(Evolution) Human Genome [IF HE'D KNOWN]

Aug 20, 2001

The human genome is complete, showing that humans are closely related to many other organisms on Earth; including fruit flies, yeast, and apes. With this information scientists can better understand the evolution of living organisms on Earth.

(World Events) 9/11 Attacks

Sep 11, 2001

On this day, terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City, severely damaged the Pentagon, and attempted an attack on the White House. Thousands died.