A naturally selective anniversary

Charles Darwin in 1880 (photo from Wikipedia).

As noted by Afarensis, yesterday marked 148 years since the first time Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection was published, in a contribution to the proceedings of the Linnean Society in London.

Having developed, mulled over and collected evidence for his theory over a period of twenty-odd years, Darwin's hand was apparently forced by his receipt of a letter from Alfred Wallace, who had independently come to similar conclusions.