The Oxford evolution debate took place on 30th 1860 at the University’s Museum of Natural History. Among the many scientists and philosophers that attended, two are remembered to this day for their heated exchange.
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce asked Darwin’s Bulldog, Thomas Henry Huxley, whether it was through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey. To this, Huxley replied that he had no issues with a monkey for his ancestor but was ashamed to be connected with a man who used his great gifts to obscure the truth.
The debate had taken place seven months after the publication of Charles Darwin’s seminal book, On the Origin of Species.
