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Birth of C. Darwin
Charles Darwin was born on Feburary 12th, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. He was the second youngest out of his six siblings. From the very beginning, Charles had a big influence in science due to his grandfather. Erasmus Darwin was a physician and scientist who made many contributions to the scientific community. -
Edinburgh, Charles Tackles Medical School!
At the age of 16, Darwin enrolled as a medical student at the University of Edinburgh. While it may have made his father proud, Charles actually did not enjoy medical school. Nothing about the medical field apeased him, which then led him to withdrawal from the University of Edinburgh. Yet, during his time there, Charles found an interest in one of his classes; Zoology. -
From Edinburgh, to Cambridge!
Once his father came to the realization that Charles was not interested in learning medicine, he had him transfer to another university. After the transfer from Edinburgh, Charles went on to get his Arts Degree from Cambridge. This degree came fairly easy to him, and he earned it in as little as three years. During those years at Cambridge, he decided to keep pursuring the sciences- Botany and Zoology. -
Set sail! The Voyage on The Beagle! 1831-1836
During his last year at Cambridge, Charles was invited to board The Beagle as a naturalist. This expedition was suppose to set sail from the British Isles, circle around South America, out to Australia which would then lead them over to the Cape Verde Islands, and back to their starting point. This expedition allowed Charles to discover new things, botanical and zoological. He recorded a lot of discoveries which would then later be used in future scientific topics. -
Exciting discoveries await back home!
Once he arrived back home, he kept in touch with John Henslow who helped him publish his notes into a pamphlet, that was passed on to Cambridge. Darwin’s discoveries were just the beginning for him. Henslow also went on to pass a lot of the fossils that Darwin brought back with him to the many eager paleontologists. Even though this was Darwin’s first voyage after graduating from the university, it didn’t stop him from gaining lots of creditability within the scientific community. -
The theory we've all been waiting for!
By 1842, Darwin wrote his theory on natural selection, or as many of us would know it by “survival of the fittest.”. He was intrigued on how a lot of breeders were able to keep producing well fit animals. He focused his theory around a certain species he discovered in the Galapagos Islands. By watching them, he was able to come to the conclusion on how evolution picks those that are destined for survival. -
The Origin of Species
Darwin published his book “The Origin of Species” on November 24th, 1859. Which sold out completely. The book explained his theory of evolution regarding living things. The book had several editions, and we tend to see Darwinism/survival of the fittest in the later versions of his book. The last edition of the book was released in 1872. The 6th edition included more detail on common ancestry and how it ties in with theory of Darwinism. -
Death of Charles Darwin
As the year came to an end,Charles Darwin unfortunately passed away from heart failure at the age of 73. Darwin left behind a legacy that would go to help revolutionize the future discoveries on evolution, geology, zoology, and botanical physiology. He is survived by his wife Emma, and seven out of ten children. here is brief video on Charles Darwin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsUz2O2jww