February 12th, 1809, was a landmark day in human history, but nobody knew it at the time. In the United States, which was still a fairly new nation, Thomas Jefferson was in the waning months of his presidency (inaugurations were not until March back then). There were almost no white settlers west of the Mississippi, and even the territory west of the Alleghenies had large tracts of virgin forest and tribes of Indians living as they always had.
Happy Birthday, Chuck and Abe!
In Europe, Napoleon was at the height of his power but England still ruled the waves.
On that day two babies were born who would change the world forever. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England, into a wealthy and intellectually aristocratic family. His grandfather on his mothers side was Josiah Wedgwood, who made great advances in the art of pottery and introduced the buy one, get one free concept. His paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was a poet and a botanist whose work with plants presaged Darwin’s theory of evolution. There were passionate abolitionists on both sides of Darwin’s family.
On the same day in Kentucky, USA, Abraham Lincoln was born. Legend says he was born in a log cabin, and that may well be true. In any event, his family was not wealthy.
Darwin had tutors. Lincoln was, for the most part, self-taught.
Darwin published “On the Origin of Species” in 1859. Lincoln was elected president of the United States in 1860.
Both of them had a permanent, and profound, impact on human civilization. Darwin proved that all life is evolved from more primitive forms. Before that, everybody took the Garden of Eden story quite literally. Some still do, which proves two things. First, that Darwin was a century and a half ahead of his time and, second, that some people are morons.
Lincoln kept the United States united, ended slavery, helped settle the west with the Homestead Act and built (along with several thousand Chinese and Irish immigrants) the transcontinental railroad. He also kicked Chuck Norris’ ass in “Epic Rap Battles of History.”
Happy Birthday, Chuck and Abe. You were both awesome.
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