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Happy Darwin Day Thursday
While almost all of Illinois is gearing up for Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial on Thursday, some groups across the world and in Illinois are setting up for a different kind of celebration. Feb. 12 also marks English naturalist Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. His book The Origin of Species was published in 1909, which would have been his 100th birthday.

The Humanists of West Suburban Chicagoland hold a celebration in honor of Darwin every year; co-founder and chair Jack Sechrest says this year won't be any different. But, he says this year they've had more people than usual register in advance.

The Humanists' program includes a pot luck that starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church in Naperville. Sechrest says all are welcome to attend. At 7:30, anthropologist Page Stephens will speak on "Darwin's Enemies: 150 Years of Misunderstanding."

Sechrest says it's important that people not forget about Darwin's contributions to human society. "The planet we're on and the lives that emerged and the culture that's emerged and the quality of lives that we live today and where we're going in the future...it's really an important idea so we can't leave Darwin out," he said.

(Illinois Radio Network)
02 11 09 by Newsroom
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