The history of zoology before Charles Darwin's 1859 theory of evolution traces the organized study of the animal kingdom from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of zoology as a single coherent field arose much later, systematic study of zoology is seen in the works of Aristotle and Galen in the ancient Greco-Roman world. This work was developed in the Middle Ages by Islamic medicine and scholarship, and in turn their work was extended by European scholars such as Albertus Magnus.
During the European Renaissance and early modern period, zoological thought was revolutionized in Europe by a renewed interest in empiricism and the discovery of many novel organisms. Prominent in this movement were the anatomist Vesalius and the physiologist William Harvey, who used experimentation and careful observation, and naturalists such as Carl Linnaeus and Buffon who began to classify the diversity of life and the fossil record, as well as the development and behavior of organisms. Microscopy revealed the previously unknown world of microorganisms, laying the groundwork for cell theory. The growing importance of natural theology, partly a response to the rise of mechanical philosophy, encouraged the growth of natural history (although it entrenched the argument from design).
Over the 18th and 19th centuries, zoology became increasingly professional scientific disciplines. Explorer-naturalists such as Alexander von Humboldt investigated the interaction between organisms and their environment, and the ways this relationship depends on geography—laying the foundations for biogeography, ecology and ethology. Naturalists began to reject essentialism and consider the importance of extinction and the mutability of species. Cell theory provided a new perspective on the fundamental basis of life. These developments, as well as the results from embryology and paleontology, were synthesized in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. In 1859, Darwin placed the theory of organic evolution on a new footing, by his discovery of a process by which organic evolution can occur, and provided observational evidence that it had done so.
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parts Timeline of zoology History of zoology (through1859) Historyofzoology (since 1859) Animals Lists of animals Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom Parazoa...
the natural historyof the animals they saw around them, and used this knowledge to domesticate certain species, the formal study ofzoology can be said...
This is a chronologically organized listing of notable zoological events and discoveries. 28000 BC. Cave paintings (e.g. Chauvet Cave) in Southern France...
research collections of the MCZ are not open to the public. The Museum of Comparative Zoology was founded in 1859through the efforts of zoologist Louis Agassiz;...
The year 1859 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below. May 26 & June 2 – Geologist Joseph Prestwich and amateur archaeologist...
and often bred for conservation purposes. The term zoological garden refers to zoology, the study of animals. The term is derived from the Greek ζώον,...
related to 1859. 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian...
informatics, Zoological Society of London, Silver medal Robert Patterson (1802–1872), Irish naturalist, author of The natural historyof the insects mentioned...
a major advance in the historyof anatomy over the long-dominant work of Galen, and presented itself as such. The collection of books is based on his Paduan...
in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and named by the English biologist T.H. Huxley that separates the biogeographical realms of Asia...
Naturkunde (German colonial empire), British Museum (Natural History) (British colonial Empire), Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg, and Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke...
conservation of the Galápagos terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The Research Station, established in 1959 and dedicated in 1964, has a natural history interpretation...
work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin that is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. It was published on 24 November 1859. Darwin's...
March 21, 1859, the Pennsylvania legislature incorporated the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. The incorporation paper reads: "The purpose of this corporation...
Abstracts: Modern history abstracts, 1450–1914. American Bibliographical Center, Clio. 1997. p. 967. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1859). Parliamentary...
the Zoology Museum and the Anatomy Museum, which are all located in various buildings on the main campus of the university in the west end of Glasgow...
the responsibility of publishing his work, in the case of his sudden death. Darwin lived and published On the Origin of Species in 1859. Emma often played...
wife of Robert Darwin, a wealthy doctor, and mother of naturalist Charles Darwin, and part of the Wedgwood pottery family. She was the daughter of Josiah...
pictorial handbook; Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata Benson, W. H. (1859). Descriptions of new species of Helix, Streptaxis, and Vitrina...
best-seller Vestiges of the Natural Historyof Creation brought wide interest in transmutation. Darwin scorned its amateurish geology and zoology, but carefully...
and zoology were formed. Natural history, formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more...
It housed one of the largest natural history collections in the world. 1894 – Although Ignazio Porro had invented binoculars in 1859, high quality binoculars...
Houston Zoological Garden opened on the park grounds two years later. The park complex expanded with the construction of Museum of Natural History and a...
Faroese sources on catches of pilot whales for different years: 1900–2000 Zoological Department, Museum of Natural History (2008-06-12). "Whaling Information"...
topics are available through the Outline of the historyof physics. Elements of what became physics were drawn primarily from the fields of astronomy, optics...
what were then the Natural History departments of the British Museum in South Kensington. The four departments ofZoology, Botany, Mineralogy and Geology...
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