Seymour Center Lecture Recounts Galapagos Expedition

The Seymour Center’s monthly Science Sunday lecture is Sunday, March 18, 2018, at 1:30 PM.

Tickets available at 12:30
Doors open at 1:00
Lecture at 1:30
Book signing at 2:30

Collecting Evolution:
The Galapagos Expedition That Vindicated Darwin
Matthew James, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Geology, Sonoma State University

In 1905, eight sailor-scientists from the California Academy of Sciences set out on an 89-foot schooner from San Francisco for a scientific collecting expedition in the Galapagos Islands. By the time they finished in 1906, they had completed one of the most important expeditions in the history of both evolutionary and conservation science. The scientists brought back 78,000 specimens, validating the ideas of Charles Darwin and laid the groundwork for foundational evolution texts such as David Lack’s landmark 1947 book Darwin’s Finches.

Despite the significance of this expedition, almost nothing was written about this voyage, and thus lost amongst broader discussions of Darwin’s trip on HMS Beagle. Join Matthew James as he tells the story of the 1905-06 Galapagos expedition and its implications. James follows these eight young men aboard the schooner Academy to the Galapagos and back, and reveals the stories that occurred before, during, and after their groundbreaking success.

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