Articles tagged as Charles Darwin | Smithsonian Magazine

The Galapagos is no place for a mammal. But it's a great place to be a reptile. Land animals had to make the trip here via rafts of vegetation that broke loose from the mainland, which isn't so bad if you have scaly skin, are cold-blooded and can go for a long time without fresh water. A few rodents managed to colonize the islands, and there are some native bats, but reptiles rule.

One of the weirdest reptiles is the marine iguana, the world's only seagoing lizard. It basks on lava rocks to warm up in the morning, then swims around in the surf eating seaweed. They get to be four feet long or more and look for all the world like Godzilla. Like other Galapagos creatures, they aren't particularly bothered by humans gawking at them.

A Naturalist’s Pilgrimage to the Galapagos

Smithsonian’s Laura Helmuth vacationed in the Galapagos Islands and returned with even more respect for Charles Darwin

January 30, 2009

At Home with the Darwins

Recipes offer an intimate glimpse into the life of Charles Darwin and his family

January 23, 2009

Wallace saw signs of evolution by natural selection in Malaysian butterflies.

Out of Darwin’s Shadow

Alfred Russel Wallace arrived at the theory of natural selection independently of Charles Darwin and nearly outscooped Darwin’s The Origin of Species

January 22, 2009

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin are two of the greatest modern thinkers in history. What did they think of each other?

Darwin on Lincoln and Vice Versa

Two of the world’s greatest modern thinkers are much celebrated, but what did they know of one another?

January 22, 2009

On the Origin of a Theory

Charles Darwin’s bid for enduring fame was sparked 150 years ago by word of a rival’s research

June 2008

The Evolution of Charles Darwin

A creationist when he visited the Galápagos Islands, Darwin grasped the significance of the unique wildlife he found there only after he returned to London

December 2005

Outdoor proceedings on July 20, 1925, showing William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow.

Evolution on Trial

Eighty years after a Dayton, Tennessee, jury found John Scopes guilty of teaching evolution, the citizens of “Monkeytown” still say Darwin’s for the birds

April 2005