Charles Darwin, the father of modern biology, changed the world forever in 1859.

Please see page 3 of Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne.

"Yet Darwin looked beyond the obvious, suggesting--and supporting with copious evidence--two ideas that forever dispelled the idea of deliberate design. Those ideas were evolution and natural selection. He was not the first to think of evolution--several before him, including his own grandfather Erasmus Darwin, floated the idea that life had evolved. But Darwin was the first to use data from nature to convince people that evolution is true, and his idea of natural selection was truly novel. It testifies to his genius that the concept of natural theology, accepted by most educated Westerners before 1859, was vanquished within only a few years by a single five-hundred-page book. On the Origin of Species turned the mysteries of life's diversity from mythology into genuine science."

-- Jerry Coyne

For several more quotes from Jerry Coyne please see Some stuff I stole from Why Evolution is True. If everyone in the world bought and read Why Evolution is True, the god disease could be eradicated in less than one year (except for people who are incurably insane).