Which English naturalist formulated the theory of natural selection?

• A. Charles Darwin
• B. Alfred Wallace
• C. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
• D. Gregor Mendel

Answer: (A)

Natural selection explains how heritable variation in a population leads to differential survival and reproduction, shaping traits that are advantageous over generations. Charles Darwin is the scientist most closely associated with formulating this theory; he and Alfred Wallace independently conceived the idea, and Darwin published the comprehensive account that popularized how variation, competition, and differential reproductive success drive evolution. Lamarck proposed that traits acquired during life could be inherited, a mechanism not supported by genetics. Mendel laid the groundwork for understanding how traits are inherited through genes but did not articulate natural selection itself as the mechanism of evolution. So Darwin is the best answer because he both proposed the mechanism and provided the explanatory framework that links variation, heredity, and evolutionary change.