It goes without saying that the name Charles Darwin is one that anyone who loves science will instantly recognise.

Widely credited for his Theory of Evolution and Natural Selection, his contributions to the field of biology cannot be understated.

However, there are many beliefs about the man that are either over-simplistic or outright wrong, which have persisted over the decades.

This Darwin Day, read up on some of the myths and misconceptions about Darwin and his work:

1. Darwin was the discoverer of evolution

It is a fact for life for most scientists, that their work builds on the previous research done by scientists who came before them.

Long before Darwin, even ancient peoples did suspect that it was possible that animals would develop features over time to adapt to their circumstances.

So why is Darwin sometimes called, “The Father of Evolution”? Well, he was the first person to publish the theory together with the corresponding mechanism of natural selection.

He corresponded with another scientist, Alfred Wallace, and collaborated with him on a scientific paper the year before Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species.

On a separate but interesting note, Wallace actually visited Sarawak, then under the rule of the Brookes, to conduct his research on the flora and fauna there.

2. Darwin was anti-religion

As much as some people would like to insist on it, being religious does not mean one cannot be a scientist.

Contrary to popular belief, Darwin was no atheist, even studying at one point to be a man of the church.

His wife was a devoted Anglican and he himself was largely private about his religious beliefs but never sought to impose on anyone.

While not a staunch believer himself, he was of the opinion that religion had a place in life and never ridiculed anyone for it.

At the end of his life, his belief in a higher power largely wavered, though not because of his work, but rather because his beloved daughter succumbed to a long illness.

3. Darwin suggested humans came from monkeys

While writing his book, Darwin was gripped with uncertainty on whether he ought to express his ideas on the evolution of humans.

At the time, he had not much evidence in hand to prove his theory, and he knew that suggesting humans were the product of evolution would anger some quarters.

His reluctance was justifiable, though he eventually decided to risk it and wrote The Descent of Man to lay out his hypothesis of how humans evolved.

It should be noted that he never said humans came from monkeys, and that suggestion itself is a misunderstanding of the theory of evolution.

While humans are primates, they are not descended from apes or monkeys but rather, are part of a different branch of the same family tree.

4. Darwin’s ideas were quickly accepted

The first time Darwin’s ideas were proposed to the scientific community at large was in 1858 at the Linnaean Society of London’s annual meeting.

The geologist, Charles Lyell, who had helped Darwin compile his notes together with Wallace’s data, managed to bring up the matter for discussion and debate.

At the time, the idea of evolution via natural selection was greeted with a level of scepticism, with Darwin still hard at work finding evidence.

The following year, he published his book which was better written with compelling arguments, and thus, was better accepted by his fellow scientists.

However, there was resistance to his ideas and Darwin would work tirelessly for the rest of his life to add to his work and find more evidence to prove his theory.

5. Darwin explained where life came from

This misconception regarding Darwin’s work might have stemmed from the title of his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species.

While the title may look like it suggests the origins of life, that is not the case at all.

Throughout his work, Darwin never came up with a suggestion on how life began, as that was never something he was researching to begin with.

All he was looking into was the idea that species change over time through the process of natural selection.

While Darwin suggested that all life on Earth is related, one way or another, to a common ancestor, Darwin never did come up with a suggestion of how that ancestor existed in the first place.