Born Edmund Fiske Green (1842–1901), John Fiske was a historian and lecturer in philosophy at Harvard College. His book Darwinism and Other Essays (1876) helped popularize Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Fiske sought to demonstrate the compatibility of science and nature, and wrote several philosophical books that addressed questions of nature, religion, and God, including Myths and Myth Makers (1872), Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy (1874), and Through Nature to God (1899). Later in his career, Fiske began studying history and published a history of Columbus’ voyage, The Discovery of America (1892).