Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The term strongly suggests natural selection, yet Spencer saw evolution as extending into realms of sociology and ethics, so he also supported Lamarckism.

27 April 1820

Born on the same birth day (27 April): Adamantios Korais • Geoffrey Shovelton • Gian-Carlo Rota • Guido Cantelli • Isobel Campbell • Joe Moakley • Robert Hugh McWilliams Jr. • Ruth Glick • Vernon B. Romney • Wallace Carothers • Yiorgos Theotokas • Ángel Comizzo

Born in the same month (April 1820): Alexander Cartwright • Nadar