Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829) was a French naturalist and an early proponent of the idea that biological evolution occurs and proceeds in accordance with natural laws. He is best known for his theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, sometimes called Lamarckism.

Early Life and Education[edit | edit source]

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was born in Bazentin, Picardy, France, to a financially struggling noble family. He joined the French army in 1761. After leaving the army in 1765 due to injury, he developed a keen interest in medicine and botany. In 1778, he published his three-volume Flora Française.

Career and Contributions[edit | edit source]

In 1793, Lamarck was appointed professor of invertebrates at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. During his tenure, he proposed his theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, which suggested that an organism can change during its lifetime in response to its environment, and those changes are passed on to its offspring.

Lamarckism[edit | edit source]

Lamarckism, the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, was largely ignored during Lamarck's lifetime and was later largely discredited by Darwinian evolution. However, it has seen a resurgence in the context of epigenetics, where changes in an organism's gene expression can be inherited, though not permanently.

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Despite the controversy surrounding Lamarckism, Lamarck's work laid the groundwork for the study of evolutionary biology. His ideas about the adaptability of species were a precursor to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.