JEAN BAPTISTE DE MONET, CHEVALIER DE LAMARCK [1744 - 1829]
The man who coined the
word biologie (biology) and one of its pioneers was French scientist Lamarck. He is
remembered most for his Theory of Evolution, which proposed that the characteristics of an
organism that develop during its lifetime in response to its environment are inherited by,
or passed on to, its offspring. Charles Darwin’s theories, published 30 years after
Lamarck’s death disagreed with Lamarck’s conclusions, which were later discarded
by most scientists as invalid.
Born in rural France, Lamarck
discontinued at an early stage, careers at the church, the army, the bank and in music
– for botany. He went on to study invertebrates, a term coined by himself. He first
published his views in 1801 and enlarged them in 1809 in his Philosophie Zoologique and
subsequently, in 1815, in his introduction to his Historie Naturelle des Animaux sans
Vertebres. In these works, he upholds the doctrine that man, including other species
descended from other species. His theory of evolution came to be known as The Inheritance
of Acquired Characteristics. This described the means by which the structure of an
organism altered over generations. Lamarck’s works were largely ignored or attacked
during his lifetime. He never won the acceptance and esteem of his colleagues, only to die
in poverty and obscurity.
People took notice of this
genius only in the mid - 19th century which is rather unfortunate. Yet, the unmistakable
genius and spirit of his, is for us to discover and revel at, that such a mortal too
walked on this earth, trying to unravel its mysteries. |
