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First Darwin Day Celebration Held At USF

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TBO.com

Published: February 12, 2009

TAMPA - About 50 people marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin today at the University of South Florida in one of hundreds of such events around the world.

Today marked the first time Darwin Day was observed at the university, said Steve Fisk, vice president of Freethinkers, the university's chapter of the Secular Student Alliance, which put on the event.

This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species," Darwin's book that launched the concept of evolution.

At other universities, biology departments frequently conduct something to mark Darwin's birthday, said Fisk, a graduate psychology student at USF.

"This is a pretty young organization, so I think it turned out pretty well," he said.

The event also drew some non-students like Samantha Knight, who came from her South Tampa home.

"It seemed like it would be interesting. There's much more information about this than when I went to high school," said Knight, who graduated from high school in 1989.

Three USF faculty members were scheduled to speak: Lorena Madrigal, an evolutionary anthropologist, about the cultural contribution of Darwin; biologist Henry Mushinsky about Darwin's contribution to the understanding of life; and Richard Manning, philosopher of science, about Darwin's contribution to understanding society.

The event also included a cake that wished Darwin a happy birthday and ice cream, organizers say.
According to a Web site about Darwin Day celebrations, more than 600 events will be held across 44 countries.

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