The X Club was an influential 19th century dining club. The members were naturalists, and the club was a reaction to the Church's opposition to Charles Darwin's evolution theory. Naturalism refers to a number of different topics: Naturalism (philosophy): the view that nothing exists but the natural universe, either methodologically or ontologically — that there are no supernatural entities or at least no observations that show them to exist. ... In his lifetime Charles Darwin gained international fame as a controversial and influential scientist. ... This article is about biological evolution. ...

The nine members of the X-club were:

• Joseph Dalton Hooker, director of Kew Gardens
• Thomas Huxley, biologist
• William Spottiswoode, mathematician and physicist
• Edward Frankland, chemist
• John Tyndall, natural philosopher
• George Busk, surgeon and zoologist
• Sir John Lubbock, banker and archeologist
• Thomas Hirst, mathematician
• Herbert Spencer, philosopher

These nine people were influential in the British world of science, and specifically in the Royal Society. They met once a month from 1864 to 1892, to discuss science without any religious influence. Many of the foremost scientists of the day, such as Charles Darwin, Asa Gray, and Louis Agassiz were invited to speak at these meetings. By outsiders, the club was seen as a "governing body" of science, although its members denied this. Joseph Dalton Hooker Dr. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, GCSI , OM , FRS , MD (June 30, 1817 – December 10, 1911) was an English botanist and traveller. ... Kew Gardens is the name of several places: Kew Gardens is a commonly-used name for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, United Kingdom Kew Gardens is the name of a park in The Beaches neighborhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kew Gardens is also the name of a neighborhood... Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley F.R.S. (May 4, 1825 - June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as Darwins Bulldog for his defence of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. ... William Spottiswoode William Spottiswoode (January 11, 1825, London - June 27, 1883)was an English mathematician and physicist. ... Sir Edward Frankland (January 18, 1825 – August 9, 1899) was an English chemist. ... This article is about the 19th century scientist. ... George Busk (August 12, 1807, St Petersburg - August 10, 1886, London) was a British surgeon, zoologist and palaeontologist, son of Robert Busk, merchant of St Petersburg. ... John Lubbock. ... Herbert Spencer. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Asa Gray, Botanist Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 - January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. ... Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (May 28, 1807-December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American zoologist, glaciologist, and geologist, the husband of educator Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, and one of the first world-class American scientists. ...

This organization was actually the front for Charles Darwin's theory on evolution. Contrary to popular belief, Charles Darwin never backed up his findings, It is thought that he was afraid of the consequences. So this club fronted his ideas, with his name behind it. It is through the X club that Charles Darwin's theories have become most well known. A phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, as described initially by Carl Woese. ... In his lifetime Charles Darwin gained international fame as a controversial and influential scientist. ...