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Birth
Born in Shrewsbury, England, he was the son of a physician. His grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was also a physician like his son but was also the author of papers in biology; these papers presented a "proto-evolutionary" standpoint. Proto-evolution is the theory of evolution that predates Charles Darwin. Erasmus Darwin had the theory, "all vegetables and animals now living were originally derived from the smallest microscopic ones," (Erasmus Darwin | Romantic Natural History) and he also... -
Birth Continued
...mentions the importance of sexual selection in continuing changes within a species. Choosing a partner that has desirable features for survival, such as a beak that is better for cracking shells rather than one that excels at digging in the ground, would slowly become the dominant trait of the species. Erasmus Darwin | Romantic Natural History. blogs.dickinson.edu/romnat/2011/06/07/erasmus-darwin/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2022. -
Departure of the HMS Beagle
After multiple false starts, the HMS Beagle finally left the port in late 1831 to start Darwin's journey in the "discovery" of evolution. I say discovery because even though he is credited with the theory, between 1748 and 1859, there were about seventy other scientists who wrote about evolution. Friedman, William. “Who Discovered Evolution?” Harvard Museum of Natural History, 3 Mar. 2020, hmnh.harvard.edu/event/who-discovered-evolution. -
Galapagos Islands
The HMS Beagle arrived at the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin made many observations and collected multiple specimens that were evidence in his theory of natural selection. Here is where he saw finches of multiple different varieties separated by the Islands. He noted that there were four distinct beaks that served different purposes based on the food that was available on each island. This was his evidence of Natural Selection, as food sources died out the beaks that were favorable carried on. -
Publication of "On the Origin of Species"
Nearly 28 years after his departure on the HMS Beagle, he published his findings and observations from that voyage and the many other excursions between. This publication changed the way the world looked at the evolution of species and created an understanding that the development of a species followed a natural order and selection. -
Death
An informative video from my favorite educational YouTube host: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfsUz2O2jww