Simplistic and inaccurate stories about the history of science are common. How can more complicated and accurate histories improve our ability to navigate issues that concern science in the present? This talk will take on common yet historically inaccurate tales about Charles Darwin to illustrate why doing history with close attention to both context and primary sources is important.

Kristin Johnson’s research focuses on the history of the life sciences, especially the naturalist tradition. Her books include an historical novel The Species Maker (2021), a fictional exploration of debates over evolution in the 1920s, Imagining Progress: Science, Faith, and Child Mortality in America (2024) and Darwin's Falling Sparrow: Victorian Evolutionists and the Meaning of Suffering (2024). Her research is driven by the teaching she does in the Science, Technology, Health and Society Program, where her courses include: Apes, Angels, and Darwin; Evolution and Society Since Darwin; Natural History Museums and Society; Medicine in the U.S. - Historical Perspectives; History of Public Health; and Evolution and Ethics.

The John D. Regester Lecture series was established in 1965 to honor John Regester, who joined the Puget Sound faculty in 1924. The address is given by a member of the university who exemplifies the qualities of scholarship and intellectual integrity that professors and students have long associated with Regester, who taught philosophy and served as dean of the university and graduate school.

• 5-5:30 p.m. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres
• 5:30-6:30 p.m. Lecture & discussion

This event is open to all campus and community members.