Thanks for your valuable input I hate to say it but you are right The level of detail in both the lead and the main article are too much If History of biology can fit into 75 K History of evolutionary thought should fit into less than 60 K I will try and break out detail into child articles I can already see Evolutioanry ideas of the Enlightenment and Eclipse of Darwinism or perhaps just Alternatives to natural slection coming I also see a bunch of detail moving to transmutation of species and there is probably too much overlap with Modern evolutionary synthesis now as well You have given me quite a bit to chew on