The animals on the Galapagos Islands inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection. During his visit to the islands in 1835, Darwin observed unique species such as finches with varying beak shapes and tortoises with different shell markings on different islands. These observations led him to consider how species might change over time as they adapt to different environments. This idea was central to his groundbreaking theory that species evolve through natural selection, where the strongest and best-adapted survive and reproduce

. The other individuals mentioned—Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Sir Walter Raleigh—were explorers and navigators but did not contribute to the theory of evolution. Darwin’s work with the Galapagos wildlife remains a cornerstone in the history of evolutionary biology