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Charles Darwin 1809-1882

By c_roth02

  • The Beginning

    Charles Robert Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, UK. He was the fifth born child of his parents Robert and Susannah Darwin, who were a wealthy and successful family in Shrewsbury (Francis 15-18). Francis, Keith. Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species . Greenwood Press, 2007.

  • Schooling Period

    From the ages of nine until sixteen years old Darwin attended school at "Dr. Butler's" school in Shrewsbury where he struggled to find any interest. Of his time here he said, "Nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than Dr. Butler's school" (Darwin). After this he studied at Edinburgh for two years, and then on to Cambridge where he developed an interest in collecting beetles. Darwin, Charles. From the Life and Letters of Charles Darwin. Edited by Francis Darwin.

  • The Voyage

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    On this day Darwin departed on board the HMS Beagle for a five year voyage from 1831-1836. He stated, "The voyage of the 'Beagle' has been by far the most important event in my life" (Darwin). The observations he made and recorded on this journey, specifically on the Galapagos Islands, would be the foundation for arguably the greatest theory biology has ever known.
    Darwin, Charles. From the Life and Letters of Charles Darwin. Edited by Francis Darwin.

  • "On the Origin of Species"

    The most successful book, that cemented Darwin's legacy, was published over 20 years after his voyage to the Galapagos. Darwin spent two decades studying his observations and formulating his theory. On July 1, 1858 Darwin along with Alfred Wallace presented their notes before the 'Society'. This has been coined "The date of birth of modern evolutionism" (Allen, 81). Charles Darwin. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2010.

  • The Legacy

    April 19, 1882, Charles Darwin died; however the theories he presented continue to live on today. He 'shifted the paradigm' of human biology and religion forever, "Darwin put forward the mechanism of natural selection, and today this is generally accepted as the right mechanism" (Ruse, 293). Few individuals in science, or philosophy, have equaled the substantial and long lasting impact that Charles Darwin has made to both. Ruse, Michael. Charles Darwin. Blackwell Pub., 2008.