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Charles Darwin is born -
In September of 1818 after the death of his mother in 1817, Charles joins Shrewsbury School for boarding with his older brother. -
Charles Darwin begins studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He cannot stand the sight of blood, so in 1828 he leaves to join Christ’s College, Cambridge to study for a general degree that may lead to him becoming an Anglican clergyman. At both universities he proves to be more interested in natural history than in his regular studies. -
Charles Darwin joins Captain Fitzroy aboard HMS Beagle. The voyage lasts five years and takes him all around the world -
Darwin meets two different types of people he encounters slaves in Brazil and the native people of of Tierra del Fuego. -
Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgwood, his first cousin. They have ten children (three die in childhood). -
Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. -
He writes his second book on evolutionary theory, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, focuses on human evolution and sexual selection. Its inclusion of human beings in the natural order leads to Darwin being widely pictured as an ape or monkey in the media. This happens between Febuary 1871 and March 1871 -
Darwin publishes The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. As part of his research he tests the ability to recognize facial expressions on his friends and family. -
Darwin publishes Insectivorous Plants sixteen sixteen years after making his first observations on these organisms. -
The formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actions of Worms is published. -
Following petitions from friends and colleagues, it is agreed that Darwin should receive a ceremonial funeral and be buried in Westminster Abbey, rather than in St Mary's churchyard at his home in Downe.