St. George Mivart

Saint George Jackson Mivart was a British biologist and a critic to Darwin’s theory of natural selection. He was born in London on November 30, 1827 and he died on April 1, 1900, also in London.

He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1844 and therefore, he could not study at Oxford University as expected and so went to study at St. Mary’s, Oscott.

Mivart was very interested in natural history and got to know many other naturalists, such as Owen and Huxley. He, however, was torn between his religious beliefs and science for his entire life. He was a supporter of the general theory of evolution, but criticized the natural selection. Some of his works, such as On the Genesis of Species, which was published in 1871, seriously criticized Darwin and caused a public break with Huxley and the Darwinians. Furthermore, Mivard was excommunicated because some of his works seemed to conflict with the religious teachings of the Catholic Church.

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