Satirical images of Darwin's theory of evolution

An introduction

J. David Archibald and John van Wyhe

* Caricatures of evolution
* Caricatures of evolution: 1925 Scopes Trial
* Caricatures of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was already a well-respected young natural historian when HMS Beagle returned to England in October 1836 following its nearly five-year around-the-world voyage. This reputation was a result of Darwin's mentor John Stephens Henslow having privately published and then distributing correspondence from Darwin, detailing some of his findings. Over the next twenty years Darwin's work documented his part in the voyage, provided geological results and presented monographic studies on living and fossil barnacles, only increasing his stature and respect among English naturalists. In November 1859 this would all change within a matter of months with the publication of his On the origin of species, providing the first testable mechanism for species change through time – natural selection – upending how people viewed nature and their place in it. He had many supporters as well as detractors within the scientific community whereas the religious powers widely condemned it. The public certainly did not know quite what to make of all the fuss, simply harrumphing along with the powers that be.

Along with reviews, the most visible reactions to Darwin and his theory came in the form of caricatures of the man and satires of his theories. How great an impact he and his ideas had is easily demonstrated. No caricature of or satirical image about Darwin had been published before 1860. This was about to change, although the press clearly did not at first know how to satirize the man and his ideas. In less than a year from the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859 the weekly humour and satirical magazine Punch presented an innocuous cartoon of a terrified cat reacting to a very small dog titled "Unnatural Selection and Improvement of Species". Visualizations would not remain this tame for very long. Satirists quickly learned how to use these ideas to skewer British society, politicians, and events of the day.

In Darwin: A Companion (2021) John van Wyhe presented the longest list yet published of caricatures of Charles Darwin created in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Here we complement these images of Darwin with the largest yet assembled collection of satires of evolution, that is, those that do not include an image of Darwin. These satirical images are arranged mostly chronologically, from 1860 to 1939.

While one can find these sorts of satires of this era in other parts of Europe and the United States, they were far more common in mid to late 19th century Great Britain where they were drawing on older traditions of using animal imagery in satire. This changed dramatically in the early 20th century in the United States with the rise of Christian fundamentalism and biblical creationism reaching a zenith with the 1925 Scopes trial in Tennessee. Many more American public and religious newspapers published satirical cartoons. Unlike the earlier satires in Great Britain that were more nuanced often supporting Darwin's theories but with a bite or lambasting public figures, the American versions more broadly attacked evolution per se rather than specific aspects of Darwin's theories. Images included here from non-English sources generally followed the English pattern of supporting Darwin, calling attention to the human condition, or poking fun at issues of the day. Throughout are some not so surprising images and texts that at least by today's standards are blatantly racist.  

With a few exceptions, the satires presented here either directly refer to Darwin or theories attributable to him including natural selection, survival of the fittest, descent of man, or expression of emotions in man and animals. Anthropomorphized animals – dogs playing cards – are from an older tradition and were not a reference to evolution.

Some themes warrant special note as these produced an abundance of related satires. The first of these concerns images in the late 1850s involving gorillas. As Horrall (2017) discusses, a gorilla specimen was first seen by the public in a display at the Crystal Palace in 1858 London. The American explorer Paul Du Chaillu provided sensationalized encounters with gorillas in West Africa in 1856-1859. This was capped by publication of Darwin's On the origin of species in 1859 although it mattered little that the book said nothing of gorillas or anything specific about human origins. These coincidences thrust the gorilla to the fore as the newest member of the human family – both frightening and fascinating Londoners. Satirists pounced.

The publication producing the greatest number of evolution satires (and caricatures of Darwin), was Punch, the famousweekly magazine devoted to satirical humour launched in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and Ebenezer Landelis. These enjoyed poking fun at  Darwin's theories or their supposed implications, but were far from outraged to vehemently opposed. Especially in its earlier years satirists were obsessed with the relationships between humans, apes, and monkeys. Various parts and classes of society were lampooned using Darwin's ideas as a weapon. Peter Gray (1993) notes that early on Punch "led philanthropic assaults on sweated labour, poor law abuses, and terrible urban conditions" but by the late 1840s it tended to the more conservative with a more a mid-Victorian patriotic national tilt. Notable, are tones of anti-Semitic and anti-Irish sentiment. In the latter case, Punch had early on sympathized with the plight of famine ravaging Ireland. Later this sympathy waned and in a variety of Punch cartoons the Irish were 'simianiazed' (Gray 1993) including in the text and images dealing with various issues including those on evolutionary topics.

One of the earliest and most extensive mockeries of Darwin's ideas in the United States occurred in 1873 shortly after the publication of Darwin's Descent of man. It was also an early harbinger of what has become known as Jim Crow laws, particularly in the southern U.S. where white supremacy played a role during and after Reconstruction. The event, or rather events occurred during what is now called the New Orleans Mardi Gras. In 1873, one of the oldest extant participating groups, The Mistick Krewe of Comus presented the theme "The Missing Links to Darwin's Origin of Species". Among the events were a parade with the above title and two tableaus presented on stage showing evolutionary "missing links". This Darwin-mocking parade, tableaus, and many fanciful evolutionary costumes are included in this collection.

Apes of all sorts continued as fodder for visual satires with World War I as an obvious theme. The notable increase of mostly antievolutionary satires in the United State began in the 20th century. One of the most prolific, artistically talented, and vehemently fundamentalist artists of this time was Ernest James Pace, who produced many antievolutionary cartoons for the conservative Christian Press. The tenor of imagery changed dramatically with the Scopes Trial of 1925. The trial produced a flurry of new satires, often lambasting the Tennessee antievolution law, the Butler Act which prohibited the teaching of human evolution in public schools. Papers were not kind to Tennessee, a common butt of the satires.

Stories vary but officials in the town of Dayton, Tennessee saw a show trial as a way to put the town on the map. It did, but often not in a positive manner. The town and trial had a circus atmosphere. The defendant in the case, John Scopes, agreed to teach human evolution in his high school biology course and be tried under the Butler Act. With the support of the recently established ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) the renowned criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow led the defence team. The prosecution was headed by the working man's advocate, three times Democrat presidential nominee, and conservative Christian William Jennings Bryan, who died very shortly after the trial ended. Scopes lost the case and was fined $100. The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the Butler Act but overturned the conviction on a technicality. The advocates of the law were ridiculed in the Unites States and in much of the educated world. Of the images shown here, Darrow and Scopes figure in a few, whereas Bryan appears in many more, almost always ridiculed by the press. Satirical images derided the carnival atmosphere promoted by Dayton and mocked the bid for attention that it meant for Bryan and sometimes all concerned.

In addition to archives and personal collections, various electronic archives of the original publications, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Google Books, HathiTrust Digital Library, the Library of Congress, Wellcome Collection, and the Internet Archive hold electronic versions of many of the publications have been used. Mark Aldrich's excellent Cartooning Evolution, 1861-1925 provides a rich array of sources on making fun of evolution.

Gray, Peter. 1993. Punch and the Great Famine. History Ireland (Summer, vol. 1, Issue 2). <https://www.historyireland.com/punch-and-the-great-famine-by-peter-gray/>

Horrall, Andrew. 2017. Inventing the Cave Man: From Darwin to the Flintstones. Manchester University Press.