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[[File:Lamarck.jpg|thumb|Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]]

[[File:Lamarck.jpg|thumb|Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]]

'''Jean-Baptiste Lamarck''' (August 1, 1744 – December 18, 1829) was a [[French]] [[naturalist]] who proposed one of the first theories of [[evolution]]. He postulated a principle called [[inheritance of acquired characteristics]], that an animal was able to change a characteristic during its lifetime depending on its behavior, and that these changes would be passed onto its offspring resulting in speciation. For example, if a giraffe attempted to eat the leaves off the top of a tree it would be constantly stretching its neck, resulting in both a longer neck for itself and that this characteristic would be passed onto its young.

'''Jean-Baptiste Lamarck''' (August 1, 1744 – December 18, 1829) was a [[French]] [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalist]] who proposed one of the first theories of [[evolution]]. He postulated a principle called [[inheritance of acquired characteristics]], that an animal was able to change a characteristic during its lifetime depending on its behavior, and that these changes would be passed onto its offspring resulting in speciation. For example, if a giraffe attempted to eat the leaves off the top of a tree it would be constantly stretching its neck, resulting in both a longer neck for itself and that this characteristic would be passed onto its young.

== Influence ==  

== Influence ==