Thursday, February 12, 2009

Historical Coincidence


I have nothing else to say today, so I will simply note that I find it very cool that Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the exact same day, which, as it happens, was exactly two hundred years ago.


I leave it to others to make parallels between physical and intellectual emancipation. I also leave it to others to remark that both processes, like evolution itself, are incomplete and sometimes suffer setbacks.


I tend to think of Darwin as the more important historical figure of the two, but I would not argue very forcefully with you if you sided with Lincoln. I would guess that if you choose Lincoln, you're likely an American. Not that there's anything wrong with that.


Some people would say that the biggest difference between Darwin and Lincoln is that while they both had beards, only Lincoln's had a name, but here again, I offer no opinion.


Enjoy the day. Have a drink to celebrate. Evolve.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I kept thinking that some writer would note that both giants of history were born on the same day, but you are the first one to do so (at least that I have read).

Jesse Archer said...

Also February 12 is the anniversary of Lawrence King's murder--proving we still have a long way to evolve!