The 12th of February. When I was in elementary school, this day was a holiday, in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
Less commonly known, at least in the US, is that he shares a birthdate—in 1809–with someone who changed the course of history, if in a different way.
I am talking about Charles Darwin.
Now that I think of it, they have more in common than having been born on the same day. Darwin’s theory explains how life forms adapt and change in response to their conditions. Lincoln’s work was both a cause and effect of the ways in which his country was changing and in which human minds and spirits were changing, and still must change.
So, perhaps, we could say that while Darwin gave us the theory of physical evolution, Lincoln understood and worked for mental and spiritual evolution.
I would love for this date to be celebrated as Lincoln’s birthday. And I dare Texas, Florida or any other state—or this country—to commemorate Darwin on this day!
