Final answer:
Thomas Malthus greatly influenced Darwin's thinking on population adaptation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The English demographer whose work on population growth greatly influenced Darwin's thinking on population adaptation was Thomas Malthus. Malthus published a book in 1798 titled An Essay on the Principle of Population, where he argued that populations with unlimited natural resources grow very rapidly, which represents an exponential growth. Darwin was influenced by Malthus' ideas on how population growth is regulated by limited resources and the struggle for existence. This understanding of population growth and adaptation played a crucial role in Darwin's theory of natural selection.