Lemark came up with the theory of evolution by aquired characteristics, where if an organism required a particular characteristic they would aquire it, and then it would be passed on to their offspring. Despite being wrong, this was accepted in France, as he suggested this theory after the French Revolution, and as a result people were more accepting of the fact that change can occur, so his theory was widely accepted.
Darwin worked in Britain where there was an entrenched monarchy and the church and state were allies. As a result, the state was not accepting of his theory of evolution due to natural selection. However, as science and medicine were begining to improve individuals lives, people were more accepting of science, and in the huxley-wilberforce debate, huxley presented enough evidence to convince the public of darwins theory