[Edward Forbes (1815–1854). A creationist who contributed to the development of evolutionism]

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species appeared in bookshops in 1859. The history of the publication has been discussed in many publications. It is often stressed that Darwin had decided to publish the theory after reading a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently drew similar conclusion. However, in a detailed investigation into the history of evolutionism, contribution of Edward Forbesto making the theory public should also be acknowledged. This less known to the contemporaries British naturalist had died (at the age of 39) before Darwin’s opus magnum was published. Forbes’ premature death was considered a great tragedy for the world of natural science. He was a creationist and stated that the paleontological data unambiguously indicate that the new species are not the result of transmutation but are God’s creation. The aim of this publication is to present Forbes’ contribution to the development of the theory publically criticized by him.