Reactions to On the Origin of Species man to be envious of a naturalist like myself, immeasurably his inferior!" Darwin's had estimated that erosion of the Weald would take 300 million years, but in the second edition of "On the Origin of Species" published on 7 January 1860 he accepted that it would be safer to allow 150 million to 200 million years. Geologists knew the earth was ancient, but had felt unable to put realistic figures on the duration of past geological changes. Darwin's book provided a new impetus to quantifying geological time. His most prominent critic, John Phillips, had investigated how temperatures increased with depth
Genetics and the Origin of Species of Species" in 1859." Dobzhansky was plagued by a form of leukemia in his later years, but he remained vigorously active until the day before his death on December 18, 1975. During his lifetime he was the recipient of many honors and awards. For "Genetics and the Origin of Species" Dobzhansky was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 1941. Sixty years after its publication, the National Academy of Sciences commissioned a book entitled "Genetics and the Origin of Species: From Darwin to Molecular Biology 60 Years After Dobzhansky". It was also included in