Charles Darwin and On the Origin of Species

Charles Darwin and On the Origin of Species have been in the news because 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth (February 12, 1809) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (November 24, 1859); news articles include, for example, “On Darwin's 200th, a Theory Still in Controversy” and “Darwin, Britain's Hero, Is Still Controversial in U.S.” BBC has a series of programs, Darwin: The Genius of Evolution. The Natural History Museum, London, and other organizations are sponsoring a series of celebrations in the U.K., Darwin200. Exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, include “The Evolution Trail” and “Orchids through Darwin’s Eyes.”

In DDC 22, 576.82 Theories of evolution has the class-here note: “Class here Darwinism, natural selection.” Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is classed in 576.82, e.g., The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or, The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.

In WebDewey there is a built number 576.82092 Darwin, Charles (built with 576.82 plus T1—092 Persons). Examples of biographies classed in 576.82092 are Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species and The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of his Theory of Evolution.

Because Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, in its nearly 150 years of existence, has been classed according to earlier editions of Dewey as well as DDC 22, other numbers can still be found in WorldCat records. The classification summary in Classify (an experimental classification service from OCLC Research) gives the DDC 22 number, of course, but lists 575.0162 as the most frequent number in WorldCat—the number for Darwinism in DDC editions 13–14 and 16–20 (it was cut back to 575.01 in edition 15). Another number listed in the Classify summary, 575.8, is the edition 14 number for “origin of species.” The new biology schedule, with the current number 576.82 Theories of evolution, came in DDC 21. This is an example for Michael Panzer, who is working on a service tracing the history of DDC concepts, as he reported at the ALA Midwinter Dewey Breakfast/Update.

Comments

[commentator]

how about a 'search this blog' option? or a 'suggestion box' for topics to cover in future posts? (hint, hint, where to class books about video art in dewey?)

[eve isk]

Because Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, in its nearly 150 years of existence, has been classed according to earlier editions of Dewey as well as DDC 22, other numbers can still be found in WorldCat records.