know your history? probably not...

[acroyear]

Laelaps : Against textbook Lincolnism:

February 12, 2009 will mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, and the naturalist shares his birthday with Abraham Lincoln. There will surely be a few articles comparing the two famous figures, particularly their views on race and slavery, but such articles will probably miss the greatest commonality shared between them. Both men have been written about extensively but are still poorly understood by the majority of the public. There are plenty of people who wish to remake them in one image or another.

That's why I enjoyed the interview [click link above] with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that was featured on the Colbert Report the other night. For all that has been written about Lincoln (which is quite a bit) very few people know who the "real Lincoln" was. We are familiar with the sainted incarnation of Lincoln (or the demonized version, depending on the company you keep), but it seems that much of what people claim to know of our 16th president is more myth than reality.

Charles Darwin is similarly afflicted, particularly given the efforts of creationists to make him the Devil's servant and scientists who wish to honor Darwin without knowing very much about their hero. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that historians will have to keep writing about the real Darwin & Lincoln for many years to come. The mythology surrounding both men is extremely pervasive and persistent.

Comments

[stonehenge1121.livejournal.com]

FYI: the February issue of Smithsonian has a pretty balanced article on the two of them. It was an interesting read, and now I feel an urge to buy more books ...damn them!

[petricat666.livejournal.com]

The January cover story of BBC History Magazine is about the myths about Darwin. Charles Darwin would have been shocked that people thought that his theory meant that he didn't want people to believe in God. (he was an agnostic and his widow had to fight a 19th century myth that he coverted to Christianity on his deathbed). He wasn't the first to espouse evolutionary theorums, among others was his grandfather Erasmus Darwin. (love the name) He also never stated that man was descended from apes. He would have likened it to someone saying that they were a direct descendant from their cousin. He and many other scientists believed that there were similarities between apes and mankind, but as the fossil record as shown, while all primate species share a common ancestor, the beliefs of the monkey trial were not Darwinian in nature.