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Date of birth
Charles Darwin is born at The Mount, Shrewsbury, the fifth child of Robert Waring Darwin, physician, and Susannah Wedgwood. -
Entering school
Darwin starts at Unitarian day school. -
Continuing education
Darwin attends Shrewsbury School as a boarder. He hates the school, describing it as "narrow and classical". -
Leaving School
Darwin is removed from school, being deemed unsuccessful, and spends the summer accompanying his father on his doctor's rounds. That autumn, he is sent to Edinburgh University, with his brother Erasmus, to study medicine. -
Meets Mentor
Darwin meets his most influential mentor at Edinburgh, Robert Grant. -
Drop out of first college
Darwin leaves Edinburgh without taking a degree. -
Re-enter college
After spending some time brushing up on his forgotten Greek, Darwin enters Christ's College, Cambridge. -
Passes BA exam
Darwin pass his BA exam, and is astonished to be ranked 10th out of 178 candidates. -
Set sails for a better life
Darwin finally sets sail on the Beagle. -
Getting into science
Darwin reads his first scientific paper "Observations...on the coast of Chile" at the Geological Society in London. -
Starting a family
Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood, his first cousin. Their first child, William Erasmus, is born on December 27th. -
Big things
Darwin published structure and distribution of Coral Reefs. -
Start of evolutionary theory
Darwin writes a thirty-five page sketch of evolutionary theory. -
More writings
Darwin writes Volcanic Islands. -
Big accomplishment
Darwin finishes his last book describing the Beagle voyages: Geological Observations on South America. -
Charles is presented an award
Charles was presented the Copley medal, the highest scientific award of the Royal Society of London. -
Fossils and Cirripedia
Darwin's first of two volumes on stalked barnacles is published. This overhauls the entire subclass of fossil and living Cirripedia. -
Recognition
The Royal Society award Darwin their Royal Medal for his work on barnacles. -
Experimenting
Darwin conducts experiments to prove that seeds, plants and animals could reach oceanic islands, where they might produce new species in geographic isolation. -
The theory of Natural Selection is developed
Charles began working on a paper for his theory called natural selection. -
His book on natural selection is published
Charles' book was titled On The Origin Of Species By Natural Selection. -
Charles Darwin dies
Charles Darwin died and was buried at Westminster Abbey. His discoveries in the scientific world helped pave the way for free thinking, and his theories still live on today.
