Jean-Baptiste Lamark
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Jean-Baptiste Lamark was a scientist who first developed a 'theory of evolution' in which the behaviour and environment of an organism would cause it to change in its lifetime and those changes could be passed on to their offspring.
About Jean-Baptiste Lamark
- In the early 19th century Jean-Baptiste Lamark developed a 'theory of evolution'. However, he did not propose natural selection as the cause.
- Lamark believed that the behaviour and environment of an organism would cause it to change in its lifetime and those changes could be passed on to their offspring.
- He suggested that the evolution of the giraffe was caused by many generations of giraffe stretching their necks to reach higher food. When a giraffe stretched its neck then the offspring would also have longer necks.
- Jean-Baptiste Lamark believed that all species began as simple worms which would spontaneously appear and over time their behaviour and environment would change them and pass that change onto their offspring.
- Jean-Baptiste Lamark was right that species 'evolve' over generations, but wrong about the cause.