with Lamarck and Darwin6, that the hereditary transmission of acquired characters is one of the
most important phenomena in biology, and it is proved by thousands of morphological
and physiological experiences. It is an indispensible foundation of the theory of
evolution.”7
(Emphasis added)

In the light of the above statement, it starts to make sense why
Trofim Lysenko (1898–1976) for example, an important figure in the
Soviet scientific community so staunchly opposed Mendelian genetics. Indeed, it
was exactly because he believed the latter to be un-Darwinian. Lysenko used his
power as Stalin’s chosen scientist to eliminate his
opponents,8 and was ultimately
responsible for famines.

Professor Albrecht Haller (1708–1777) from the University of Göttingen
made several discoveries in biology with his encyclopedic work called Elementa Physiologiae
Corporis Humani (8 vol., 1757–66; “Physiological Elements of
the Human Body”). It was a landmark in the historybook [Origin of Species] had been available
in Bronn’s translation for two years. The German professional zoologists,
botanists and geologists almost all regarded it [Darwin’s theory] as absolute
nonsense. Agassiz, Geibel, Keferstein, and so many others, laughed until they were
red in the face…”17

Haeckel’s books became immensely popular. To take one example, he was forced
by the popularity of his book called The Riddle of the Universe (In German:
Die Welträthsel) to write a sequel to the book as it sold more than
100,000 copies in its first year of appearance in Germany.18 Haeckel wrote more than 40 books, dealing mainly
with evolution and also his Monism. Sadly, Haeckel was largely responsible for turning
Germany into an evolution-believing country with his popular books. Yet we can clearly
see that many of the ideas which Haeckel ridiculed were quite