nov 24, 1859 - 1859: Darwin publishes 'On the Origin of Species'

Description:

Darwin’s theory of evolution by variation and natural selection demanded a theory of heredity via genes. Close readers of Darwin’s theory realized that evolution could work only if there were indivisible, but mutable, particles of heredity that transmit information between parents and offspring. Yet Darwin, having never read Gregor Mendel’s paper, never found an adequate formulation of such a theory during his lifetime.