Who was the first to propose a theory of evolution?

• A. Lamarck
• B. Darwin
• C. Wallace
• D. Lyell

Answer: (A)

Lamarck is credited with the first explicit theory of evolution, proposed in the early 1800s. He argued that species change over time and that traits acquired during an organism’s life could be passed on to its offspring. This idea—often summarized as inheritance of acquired characteristics—was the earliest comprehensive attempt to explain how evolution could occur, making him the earliest to propose an evolutionary theory among these figures. Later, Darwin and Wallace described a mechanism—natural selection—that explains how evolutionary change is driven by variation, differential survival, and reproduction, but they built on the concept that species change over time. Lyell contributed important geological context, showing Earth’s long history, which supported the idea of gradual evolution, but he did not propose an evolutionary theory himself.