Boston Flora

Tag: Darwin

  • Thursday, November 18, 12:00 noon – Darwin’s American Champion: Asa Gray, Louis Agassiz, and The Debate over Evolution

    Following Darwin’s breakthrough on the theory of evolution in 1859, two of Harvard’s leading men of science squared off.  Biologist Louis Agassiz rejected evolution, keeping to his theory of multiple divine creations, while botanist Asa Gray (pictured below,) whose bicentennial is November 18, became Darwin’s chief champion in America.  Mount Auburn Cemetery Docent Robin Hazard Ray and Visitor Services Assistant Jim Gorman will discuss the  history of this conflict, and Gray’s research on the plants of eastern Asia that convinced him of Darwin’s theories, on Thursday, November 18, beginning at 12 noon.

    This program is part of Mount Auburn’s “Brown Bag Lunch Series.”  Bring your lunch and enjoy this lunch and learn opportunity.  During the fall and winter Mount Auburn staff and volunteers will present a series of free hour-long talks to shed light on the lives of those buried here.  All talks take place in Story Chapel.  Coffee and tea are provided, and the program is free.  Mount Auburn is located at 580 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, and for more information, log on to www.mountauburn.org, or call 617-607-1981.

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreath of the Day

    Gold and white bow, pearls, white pine, statice, and a sweeping design, created by one of our newest decorators, Darwin Cordoba.

  • Tuesday, November 24, 1:00 – 2:30 pm – E.O. Wilson: Darwin and the Frontiers of Evolution

    On Tuesday, November 24, beginning at 1 pm (the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species) a panel of scientists led by E.O. Wilson and Everett Mendelsohn will discuss Darwin’s legacy and talk about the frontiers of evolutionary and molecular biology, hosted by the Reading Odyssey and the Darwin Facebook Project.  Sponsors include National Geographic, Citrix Online and their HiDef Conferencing Division, Campaign Monitor, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, National Center for Science Education, Squarespace, Creation the Movie, and the New York Academy of Sciences.  The live lecture is free, although only 84 tickets remain as of today, so you may reserve your tickets at http://darwinlecture4.eventbrite.com.

    Now here’s even better news:  you may watch it as a free webcast (1,870 spaces), a teleconference if you are so set up (171 spaces), or a Skype pass (161 spaces).  The deadline for signing up is November 17 for the live lecture, and November 21 for the teleconference free pass or Skype free pass.  You may sign up for the webcast right up to the end on November 24.

    You may know E.O. Wilson as perhaps the most famous ant researcher of modern times, and the mentor of gardening guru Roger Swain.  This event will be a truly special and stimulating celebration of Darwin.

  • Thursday, February 12 – Darwin at 200: Rethinking the Revolution

    The Harvard Museum of Natural History hosts a lecture by Janet Browne at 6:00 pm in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street.  On February 12, cities and universities around the world celebrate “Darwin Day.” But what is being celebrated, the achievements of a single individual or the acceptance of his controversial theory of evolution?  Ms. Browne is Aramont Professor of the History of Science, and will explore Charles Darwin’s cultural significance and what he has come to represent over time: the idea of scientific progress.  Free and open to the public.  For additional events, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures-classes-events/darwinyear.html.