means Charles Darwin's foundational work proposing that species evolve through natural selection, published November 24, 1859—the book that rewired how humans understand life itself.

from Darwin spent 20 years gathering evidence aboard HMS Beagle (1831-1836) and in his study before publishing. He was terrified of the theological backlash. Alfred Russel Wallace essentially forced his hand by developing the same theory independently; Darwin rushed the manuscript into print to establish priority. The first 1,250 copies sold out on day one.