Charles Darwin

About Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) stands as one of history's most seminal figures, ranked by MIT’s Pantheon project at #69 for his unparalleled global cultural impact. As a biologist, his work fundamentally reshaped human understanding of life through the theory of evolution by natural selection, primarily detailed in *On the Origin of Species*. His contribution transcends biology, influencing theology, philosophy, and sociology throughout the Victorian era and beyond, securing his place among the most historically important individuals.

Despite this immense historical weight, Darwin’s modern internet footprint shows an "overattention" gap of +2x relative to his importance. In 2025, his Wikipedia page garnered 1.6 million annualized views. This level of attention is significant, yet it is dwarfed by figures with far less global historical impact; for instance, modern entertainer Cher (HPI #352) received 4.2 million views, more than double Darwin's traffic. This suggests that while recognized, Darwin's foundational contributions are not attracting the same level of contemporary digital curiosity as figures from popular culture in his general historical era.

The data also indicates a slight erosion of current interest, with his Wikipedia view count dropping by -4.9% year-over-year and a -15% momentum shift between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, signaling a potential, albeit slow, decline in online engagement with his core ideas.