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Birth
The fifth-born of six children, Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, to Robert and Susannah Darwin in Shropshire County, England. -
Higher Education and First Recognition
Darwin originally intended to attend the University of Edinburgh to study medicine but found the lectures to be boring and his stomach to be weak. To escape, he instead spent much time in the library. His research there eventually led him to be a student of Robert Edmund Grant. Grant had unfortunately appropriated several of Charles' first important discoveries, until 1827, when Grant was stated in a publication in the Edinburgh Journal of Science that the discoveries, in fact, were Darwins'. -
Darwin Attends Cambridge
Darwin was enrolled at Cambridge University in 1828 in pursuit of a Bachelors's degree in art by his father, who was dismayed that his youngest son would not be a physician as he had hoped. -
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The Beagle
Darwin embarks on a voyage on the Beagle. He visits many places and collects samples of various animals and shells. This is commonly referred to as the voyage that sparked his thoughts on evolution. -
Darwin Goes Public
Charles' book was only half-finished when it was decided he would present his opinions at a meeting of the Linnean Society in London. Unfortunately, his son died of scarlet fever so he did not attend this meeting, but nevertheless his thoughts of evolution were made public at the event. -
The End of Darwin, but not Darwinism
After his death on April 19, 1882, Charles Darwin was one of only 5 non-royal persons in the 19th-century to receive a state funeral. He was buried in Westminister Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton. Darwin changed how scientists thought and studied evolution and the origins of creatures. At the time of his death, the acceptance of his theories was expanding, and he was perceived to have died a hero to the scientific community. -
On the Origin of Species
Darwin sold every one of the 1,250 copies of his book, in which he outlined his beliefs on the process of Natural Selection. While incredibly popular, it wasn't necessarily well-received and critiques followed, including crude caricatures of Darwin's bust on the body of an ape. It would take some time, but eventually, his theory would be widely, though not universally, accepted
