Final answer:
Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary biology, was influenced by earlier thinkers like Lamarck, Lyell, and Malthus, and presented a theory of natural selection that revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.
Step-by-step explanation:
Charles Darwin was a monumental figure in the field of biology, most renowned for his ground-breaking work on the theory of evolution through natural selection. The scientific atmosphere during Darwin's time was characterized by a growing curiosity about the natural world, yet many still clung to the belief in the immutability of species and a young Earth. Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle allowed him to make critical observations that underpinned his ideas on evolution and natural selection.
Darwin was influenced by several key figures prior to publishing his influential work, On the Origin of Species. Jean Baptiste Lamarck, although incorrect in his theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, was pivotal in proposing that species could change over time. Charles Lyell's observations on geology, which suggested an old Earth shaped by gradual processes, also contributed importantly to Darwin's thinking, as did Thomas Malthus' ideas on population growth and resource limitations.
The acceptance of Darwin's theories was slow, facing resistance from both the scientific community and society at large. However, the corroborating work of Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently formulated a theory of natural selection, and the advent of genetic science has only solidified Darwin's place in history as the father of evolutionary biology.