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Education
During his childhood, Darwin was fascinated with the natural world. He collected things that he would find on his hikes and he also enjoyed to hunt. By the age of 16, Darwin attended medical school at University of Edinburgh which he learned quickly he did not enjoy and dropped out of college. in 1831 he graduated from University of Cabrige with a Bachelors of Arts degree. -
Voyage around the world
Upon graduation Darwin was offered a position on the British Navy's ship HMS Beagle as a naturalist. For 5 years Darwin sailed around the world studying animals, plants, and the geology of all the places he visited. He collected thousands of specimen and crated them home for further studies. Darwin called the voyage "by far the most important event in my life." -
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Darwins Studies
After the 5yr voyage, Darwin had a lot of experience to dwell on and question. For the next 20yrs he began to theorize about evolution.
- 1838 He mulled over how breeders improve domestic animals
- 1842 Wrote his first paper on evolution by natural selection
- 1845 published thoughts on new species of finches
- 1858 Alfred Wallace, published a paper on evolution by natural selection and gained little interest. -
On the Origins of Species
Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species called the most important book in the history of biology. He continuously updated his book and wrote 6 editions. The famous phrase "survival of the fittest" wasn't published until 1869 and the word evolution was first used in the book in 1872. In 1871 The Descent of Man presented evidence that humans are from the ape family. For more about Darwin's book checkout this Crash Course