On the Origin of Species voted most influential academic book in history

Charles Darwin's formulation of the theory of evolution takes overwhelming share of public vote, ahead of Kant, Plato and Einstein

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species has been voted the most influential academic book ever written, hailed as "the supreme demonstration of why academic books matter" and "a book which has changed the way we think about everything".

After a list of the top 20 academic books was pulled together by expert academic booksellers, librarians and publishers to mark the inaugural Academic Book Week, the public was asked to vote on what they believed to be the most influential. With titles in the running including A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, Darwin's explanation of his theory of evolution was the public's overwhelming favourite, with 26% of the vote, said organisers.