This is a big year for Charles Darwin, whowas born 200 years ago and publishedhis book “On the Origin of Species” 150years ago. This book set out his theory ofevolution through natural selection, whichbrought about a permanent advance in ourunderstanding of the living world. Amidst allthe celebrations of Darwin’s achievements,this lecture will take a somewhat differentapproach by focusing on the historical contextin which Darwin worked. This will enable us to dispel somepopular myths and to truly appreciate Darwin as a key thinker inbiology.David Young is a Principal Fellow in the Department of Zoology,and author of “The Discovery of Evolution” (Natural HistoryMuseum & Cambridge University Press, 2007).