Did you know: Darwin is buried in Westminster Abbey!

[Bluebear]

The Dean of Westminster, George Granville Bradley, was away in France when he received a telegram forwarded from the President of the Royal Society in London saying “…it would be acceptable to a very large number of our fellow-countrymen of all classes and opinions that our illustrious countryman, Mr Darwin, should be buried in Westminster Abbey”. The Dean recalled “ I did not hesitate as to my answer and telegraphed direct…that my assent would be cheerfully given”. The body lay overnight in the Abbey, in the small chapel of St Faith, and on the morning of 26 April the coffin was escorted by the family and eminent mourners into the Abbey. The pall-bearers included Sir Joseph Hooker, Alfred Russel Wallace, James Russell Lowell (U.S. Ambassador), and William Spottiswoode (President of the Royal Society). The burial service was held in the Lantern, conducted by Canon Prothero, with anthems sung by the choir. The chief mourners then followed the coffin into the north aisle of the Nave where Darwin was buried next to the eminent scientist Sir John Herschel, and a few feet away from Sir Isaac Newton. The simple inscription on his grave reads “CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN BORN 12 FEBRUARY 1809. DIED 19 APRIL 1882”. Although an agnostic, Darwin was greatly respected by his contemporaries and the Bishop of Carlisle, Harvey Goodwin, in a memorial sermon preached in the Abbey on the Sunday following the funeral, said “I think that the interment of the remains of Mr Darwin in Westminster Abbey is in accordance with the judgment of the wisest of his countrymen…It would have been unfortunate if anything had occurred to give weight and currency to the foolish notion which some have diligently propagated, but for which Mr Darwin was not responsible, that there is a necessary conflict between a knowledge of Nature and a belief in God…”. A later, widely believed, rumour of a “deathbed conversion” to Christianity was denied by his daughter, who was actually present at his death. A bronze memorial, with a life-sized relief bust, was erected by his family in the north choir aisle, near to the grave, in 1888. The sculptor was Sir J.E. Boehm. The inscription just says simply “DARWIN”.

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/library/burial/darwin.htm

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Then Westminster Abbey is sacred ground!

[Bluebear]

2. If this were in the US, Santorum would be calling to exhume him

And get Darwin out of his "Christian" chapel.

[rkc3]

7. Only after Santorum pissed on his grave.

Every time I see Santorum's name in print I want to smash something. He is an embarrassment to my state.

[Hugin]

3. Wow! Even he saw it...

"the foolish notion which some have diligently propagated, but for which Mr Darwin was not responsible, that there is a necessary conflict between a knowledge of Nature and a belief in God…”.

Looks like a wedge to me.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

4. Darwin DIED???

And it's all about Johnny Carson???

Did Darwin have any kids, and if so, are they more evolved
than Dad?

[Hugin]

8. Hey Ahhnold...

Who let you in here?

Shouldn't you be out making a movie or something? ;)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

9. I am making a movie.

I star as Darwin. I am taking lessons now
on pronouncing "mollusks", "invertebrate",
"spatial distribution", "oikos", and
"Hey, some day a ape could be Governor of California."
(I know how to kid myself.)

[Hugin]

10. I'd see that!

;)

[A-Schwarzenegger]

11. GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER *IS* DARWIN!

[Bluebear]

12. But he says "DAAAH-vin"

[A-Schwarzenegger]

13. Do I make fun of you accent?

ANSWER: No.
QUESTION: Why not?
ANSWER: Because I have evolve beyond making fun
of people unless necessary.
QUESTION: How did you do that?
ANSWER: I have evolve beyond evolution.

[Bluebear]

14. Ricky Ricardo: Quit making fun of my English!

Lucy: That's English???

[A-Schwarzenegger]

15. Eggs & Oranges.

Ricky Rickardo was never Governor of Anything.
From Ricky Rickardo to me are the proof of evolution.

[Jacobin]

5. This was during the Age of Enlightenment

We have regressed to the Dark Ages, so it appears strange to us now.

[Bluebear]

6. Color me enlightened!

:)

[double_helix]

16. Darwin is perhaps the most important thinker ever, IMO.

When all is said and done, his theories will have completely changed the way humanity views itself and reality.

Darwinian theories about physical traits set off the first tidal wave; Darwinian theories about psychological traits will set off the second.

500 years from now, scientists will look back and see Origin of Species as not just an important moment in history, but as a hard dividing line between an era of myth and an era of reason.