Charles Darwin: What Else Did He Write?

Abstract

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was one of the greatest naturalists who ever lived. Almost singlehandedly he changed the world's thinking about nature, a task accomplished by only a handfull of individuals (Aristotle, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Pasteur, and Einstein) throughout the history of civilization. Darwin's Theory of Evolution laid the cornerstone of the biological sciences and has advanced biology and its applied subdisciplines of medicine and agriculture to their present level of sophistication. Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution, as Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973) has written. Biology students are aware that Darwin presented his Theory of Evolution Through Natural Selection to the world in 1859 when he published On the Origin of Species. This scholarly work is among the most important books in the history of biology and a literary classic in its own right. Some students have heard of the Voyage of the Beagle, or know that Darwin worked on and wrote Coral Reefs and Earth worms. However, most biology/zoology textbooks today do not mention Darwin's other works. I suggest that Darwin would have been recognized as a great scientist even if he had not published the Origin. Darwin left us seventeen major books, some including two volumes; he edited another book and published 166 papers in journals. During his lifetime he published well over 10,000 pages (Freeman 1978). Beyond his lifetime, his autobiography, letters, manuscripts, and numerous editions and translations of his works have been published. The Voyage of the Beagle and On the Origin of Species have not been out of print since their publication (Freeman 1977). These two works and Descent of Man have been translated into 34 languages. The Darwin books listed below follow the meticulously prepared bibliography compiled by Freeman (1977) who listed 425 separate editions, printings, and variations under On the Origin of Species alone. Bibliophiles and historians will want to consult Freeman's inventory with its impressive attention to detail. The following list is designed to emphasize for both students and teachers the depth and breadth of Darwin's professional curiosity and to provide a handy list of Darwin's works as a supplement to biology textbooks.