Introduction

On the Origin of Species, a beautiful scientific piece of literature that outlines the theory of evolution based on natural selection was one of the most influential banned books in history. Written by English naturalist Charles Darwin, the book was published on November 24, 1859. According to many unscholarly resources, it was banned from the library at Trinity College in Cambridge where Darwin had been a student there during his graduate years. This resource pointed out that teaching the theory of evolution was also banned in many schools in Tennessee from 1925-1967. The Scopes Monkey Trial is one iconic historical event where a  high school teacher named John T. Scopes,  was charged with violating state law for teaching Darwin’s evolutionary theory. Also, according to Acuña-Partal (2016), the book was banned both in Yugoslavia (1935) and Greece (1937). In addition, the article included that during General Franco's dictatorship the book was officially prohibited for over a decade.