Cafe Scientifique

bulgaria-res.night-2008.pdf

Perhaps no one has influenced our knowledge of life on Earth as much as Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882). His theory of evolution by natural selection, now the unifying theory of the life sciences, explained where all of the astonishingly diverse kinds of living things came from and how they became exquisitely adapted to their particular environments. His theory reconciled a host of diverse kinds of evidence such as the succession of fossil forms in the geological record, the geographical distribution of species, recapitulative appearances in embryology, homologous structures, vestigial organs and nesting taxonomic relationships. No other explanation before or since has made sense of these facts.

But what did he really say about humans?

Join us for European Researchers Night and on the eve of the year of celebrations dedicated to the life and work of Charles Darwin, for a Cafe Scientifique event transmitted via videoconference and linking Cambridge-Athens-Sofia. Our speaker is Dr. John van Wyhe, historian of science at the University of Cambridge, founder and Director of Darwin Online - a site that contains Darwin's complete publications, 20,000 private papers, the largest Darwin bibliography and manuscript catalogue and hundreds of supplementary works: specimens, biographies, obituaries, reviews, reference works and much more.

John van Wyhe is a historian of science at the University of Cambridge. He is the founder and Director of Darwin Online, a Bye-Fellow of Christ's College (Darwin's own college) and a member of the British Society for the History of Science.

His research has focused on refuting the long-held belief in 'Darwin's 20 year delay', the origins of the legend that Darwin discovered evolution from the finches while in the Galapagos, and more recently Darwin's views on the origins of life.

Van Wyhe is publishing three books and numerous shorter items on Darwin for 2009: an edited volume of Darwin's shorter publications (more than 250 in all), a co-edited volume of Darwin's Beagle notebooks, and an accessible illustrated book on Darwin and evolution.

Van Wyhe edits the most complete bibliographical list of Darwin's publications ever published.

Van Wyhe is also researching other aspects of Darwin's life and work including his time in Cambridge, helping to restore Darwin's college rooms and contributing to an iconography of Darwin.

Dr van Wyhe is committed to sharing Darwin's work, Darwin scholarship and history of science with the wider public. He lectures and broadcasts on Darwin and the history of science around the world.

This event is going to be in English.

• When: 26 September, 6 to 8 pm
• Where: Hilton Hotel

Places are limited - to book a place please send an email to booking@britishcouncil.bg

Find out what else will happen in the European Researchers Night here (PDF file, in Bulgarian).