Oh, how times have changed. Not that long ago, Charles Darwin just couldn't get any respect. This week, his work will be remembered around the world. We will even celebrate Darwin Day here in Victoria.

Darwin was born on Feb. 12, 1809. He died on April 19, 1882, after having set the proper Victorian way of thinking on its ear.

The discomfort he caused with his theory of evolution was reflected in the newspapers of the day.

The Daily British Colonist, for example, had a curious way to announce the passing of one of the most influential scientists of his era.

Under the headline "What some people say," the Colonist noted: "That Charles Darwin, being dead, has solved the monkey question." End of story.

The next day, the Colonist provided a little more substance.

"Charles Robert Darwin had suffered from some time from weakness of the heart, but continued to work to the last," the newspaper reported on April 26, 1882.

"He was taken ill Tuesday night with pains in the chest, faintness and nausea, which lasted more or less during Wednesday and culminated in his death in the afternoon. He remained fully conscious until with a quarter of an hour of his death."

If newspapers of the day were supposed to show respect for the dearly departed, the Colonist never got the memo. On April 28, in another short item on Darwin, the newspaper referred to him as "Darwin, the dead scientist."

On May 3, the Colonist reported that Darwin's state funeral at Westminster Abbey brought together "representatives of every class of the most eminent in England" except for royalty. "No member of the royal family was present personally or by deputy."

Then, the Colonist let the matter rest, for a couple of months at least. On June 23, 1882, the newspaper was back on the Darwin beat with this comment:

"That but for his two cold baths daily it is thought that Darwin might have lived 10 years longer."

No further explanation was offered.

To be fair to the editors of the Colonist, their poking at Darwin after his death were in keeping with their commentaries while he was alive.

In 1879, the newspaper ran an excerpt from the London Freeman that featured a new revised version of the book of Genesis, inspired by Darwin.

No. 1: "There never was a beginning. The Eternal, without us that maketh for righteousness, took no notice whatsoever for anything."

No. 10: "And in the process of time, by natural selection and survival of the fittest, Matthew Arnold, Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin appeared, and behold it was very good."

Spencer was another proponent of the theory of evolution -- he was responsible for the phrase "survival of the fittest."

And Arnold was a poet who did his best to bridge the gap between Darwin's theory and the loss of faith that resulted from it.

Darwin's theory -- published in 1859 in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life -- was that species evolve over the course of generations.

His thinking contradicted both religious beliefs and scientific knowledge. Darwin shook Victorian England -- and by extension, strongly English Victoria. But before he died, his theory started to gain acceptance.

In the middle of the 20th century, it became accepted that Darwin's natural selection was in fact the basic mechanism of evolution.

His thinking has had a tremendous impact in fields such as paleontology, anthropology and psychology. Ridiculed at first, he became one of history's most influential scientists.

Darwin dared to go against accepted thinking. With everyone thinking the truth was in this direction, Darwin said no, it's over there. He was mocked for what he said, but he held firm.

So, before the Olympics start on Friday, pause for a moment to think of Charles Darwin on his 201st birthday. If anyone could explain the theory behind "faster, higher, stronger," it would be him.

Darwin Day is an international celebration of science held to mark Feb. 12, the date biologist Charles Darwin was born. For several years, including 2010, the City of Victoria has proclaimed Darwin Day in honour of the scientist.

dobee@tc.canwest.com