Robert Edmond Grant (1793-1874), born in Edinburgh and educated at Edinburgh University as a doctor, became one of the foremost biologists of the early 19th century at Edinburgh and subsequently a professor at London University, particularly noted for his influence on Charles Darwin. Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Senate House, designed by Charles Holden home to the universitys central administration offices and its library The University of London, founded in 1836, is a federation of colleges which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ... Charles Darwin, about the same time as the publication of The Origin of Species. ...

Marine biology and Lamarckian evolution

Having obtained his MD at Edinburgh in 1814 and become a doctor, he gave up medical practice to become a specialist in marine biology and invertebrate zoology, living on a legacy from his father. As a materialist freethinker, probably a deist, and politically radical, he was open to ideas in biology that were considered subversive in the repressive conservative climate of Britain in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, and it is notable that he cited in his doctoral thesis Erasmus Darwin's Zoönomia, a work notorious for evolution theory foreshadowing Lamarck. Grant travelled widely visiting universities in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland and came into contact with the French zoologist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire who espoused the Lamarckian theory of Evolution through acquired characteristics. 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Marine biology is the study of animal and plant life within saltwater ecosystems. ... Invertebrate is a term coined by Chevalier de Lamarck to describe any animal without a backbone or vertebra, like insects, squids and worms. ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... This article primarily focuses on the general concepts of matter and existence. ... Freethought is a characteristic of individuals whose opinions are formed on the basis of an understanding and rejection of tradition, authority or established belief. ... Deism is belief in a God or first cause based on reason, rather than on faith or revelation, and thus a form of theism in opposition to fideism. ... Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means root. In various fields of endeavor, it can mean: Sciences in chemistry, either an atom or molecule with at least one unpaired electron, or a group of atoms, charged or uncharged, that act as a single entity in reaction. ... Napoleonic Wars are the wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... Erasmus Darwin Stone-cast bust of Erasmus Darwin, by William John Coffee, c 1795, (Crown Derby Modeller and world renown artist) Erasmus Darwin (December 12, 1731 – April 18, 1802) trained as a physician and wrote extensively on medicine and botany, as well as poetry. ... Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (April 15, 1772 - June 19, 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of unity of composition. He was born at Étampes, Seine-et-Oise, and studied at the college of Navarre, in Paris, where he studied natural philosophy under M. J. Brisson. ... Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck (August 1, 1744 - December 28, 1829) was a major 19th century French naturalist, who was one of the first to use the term biology in its modern sense. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ...

Grant studied marine life around the Firth of Forth, collecting specimens around the shores near a house he took at Prestonpans as well as from fishing boats, and becoming an expert on the taxonomy and functioning of sponges and sea-slugs. He considered that the same laws of life affected all organisms, from monad to man (in this context monad means a hypothetical primitive living organism or unit of organic life). Following Lamarck, Grant arranged life into a chain, or an escalator, which was kept moving upwards by the appearance of spontaneously emerging monads at its base. He followed Saint-Hilaire by suggesting that all life shared a 'unity of plan'. The Firth of Forth from Calton Hill The Forth Bridges cross the Firth The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotlands River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to... The word monad comes from the Greek word μονάς (from the word μόνος, which means one, single, unique) and has had many meanings in different contexts: Among the Pythagoreans (followers of Pythagoras) the monad was the first thing that came into existence. ...

International reputation and influence on Darwin

Grant was a stalwart of the Plinian society for student naturalists which Darwin joined in the autumn of 1826 while starting his second year of medical studies at Edinburgh University. Darwin became Grant's keenest student and assisted him with collecting specimens as well as learning from Grant's knowledge and theories. During that winter and spring Grant published twenty papers in the Edinburgh journals, mostly on sponges, eggs and larvae, which won him an international reputation, with the papers getting translated into French. Grant took Darwin as a guest to the Wernerian society which was held in professor Robert Jameson's room with membership restricted to MDs, where Darwin saw a demonstration by John James Audubon. On March 24 1827 Grant announced to the society that Darwin had established that black spores often found in oyster shells were the eggs of a skate leech, and published a paper on this discovery, while Darwin himself made a presentation on March 27 announcing this and his observations on sea-slug larvae to the Plinian society. Darwin contributed to Grant's investigations into the 'unity of plan' of animals which culminated with Grant's announcement to the Wernerian society that he had identified the pancreas in molluscs, demonstrated with a pinned-out sea-slug. This showed a homology between these simple creatures and mammals, tying them into his controversial chain of life. 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Robert Jameson Robert Jameson, (1774-1854), Scottish naturalist and mineralogist, was born in Leith in July 1774. ... John James Audubon John James Audubon1 (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a Franco-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

London University

Grant then became a lecturer at London University where he taught from 1828 to 1874 and introduced academic comparative anatomy into England. Darwin had failed to progress his medical studies at Edinburgh and moved in 1827 to a theological course at Christ's College, Cambridge where he studied the doctrines of Paley which were diametrically opposed to Grant's. They met again in 1831 when Darwin visited him to get advice on storing specimens immediately before setting out on the Voyage of the Beagle. 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Full name Christs College Motto Souvent me Souvient Remember Me Often Named after Christ Previous names Gods-house (1437), Christs College (1505) Established 1505 Sister College Wadham College Master Prof. ... This article is about William Paley, the philosopher. ... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... HMS Beagle, from an 1841 watercolour by Owen Stanley The Voyage of the Beagle refers to the survey expedition of the ship HMS Beagle under captain Robert FitzRoy which set out on 27 December 1831. ...

Professor Grant became very involved in radical and democratic causes, campaigning for a new Zoological Society museum run professionally rather than by aristocratic grandees and trying to turn the British Museum into a research institution run along French lines. He was opposed by Tories who attacked him for supporting "the reptile press" and its "blasphemous derision of the truths of Christianity" and succeeded in getting him voted out of a post at the Zoological Society. When Darwin returned from his voyage with a large collection of specimens looking for assistance with their cataloguing and classification, Grant was one of the few to offer to examine the specimens but was turned down. It appears that Darwin did not want his work associated with controversy, though this resulted in the corals not being monographed, and they do not seem to had further contact. The ambitious Tory Richard Owen was vehemently opposed to Grant's evolution theory and succeeded in supplanting him at the Zoological Society as he moved to topple the "great Grant" as the city's leading comparative anatomist. The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds largest and most important museums of ancient history. ... The term Tory derives from the Tory Party, the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. ... Sir Richard Owen and Dinornis bird skeleton Sir Richard Owen (July 20, 1804 - December 18, 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. ...

Reference

• Darwin, Adrian Desmond and James Moore, Michael Joseph, the Penguin Group, London 1991 ISBN 0-7181-3430-3