This document provides an overview of the history and key figures involved in the development of the theory of evolution. It discusses Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's early ideas about inheritance of acquired characteristics and how organisms adapt over time. It then focuses on Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle where he made observations that led him to develop the theory of evolution by natural selection. The document also discusses how Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace jointly presented this theory and how Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, presenting compelling evidence that evolution occurs due to natural selection.