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The Life of Charles Darwin
Darwin was an English naturalist who contributed major revelations in scientific theory of evolution dealing with natural selection. He became the foundation of what we know today about modern evolutionary research. At the time, he shook the foundations of scientific study and thought because of his agnostic beliefs. -
Darwin's Early Life
Darwin was born to a son of society doctor - Robert Waring and his mother, Susannah Wedgewood who was a daughter of the unitarian pottery industrialist. His other grandfather was a freethinking physician and poet. At a young age, his mother passed away and his three sisters helped raise him. He was an outcast in his early educational surrounding, and at 16 his father sent him to study medicine at Edinburgh University. It was here he began his studying of natural history, geology, and herblore. -
The First Reform Act
During the years of civil unrest, it was then that Darwin devised his theory of evolution. “Animals—whom we have made our slaves we do not like to consider our equals.—Do not slave holders wish to make the black man other kind?” -
The HMS Beagle
The HMS Beagle resting on the sands near Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia, South America. The vessel was commanded by British naval officer and scientist Robert Fitzroy and carried a crew, which included British naturalist Charles Darwin, on a survey mission that circumnavigated the world between 1831 and 1836. Image from and caption from: link text -
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The Beagle Voyage
During this time span, Darwin circumnavigated the globe. He spent in total 18 months of the journey on the ship, the rest of his time he spent in the field studying the environment of the region his was ported in. During this voyage he wrote several journals studying various species in great detail. He also encountered tribal groups, in which he noted “...difference between savage & civilized man is.—It is greater than between a wild & [a] domesticated animal.” -
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Darwin's Time in London
After his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, Darwin settled down in London as a geologist. He became well known through his published work of Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle (1839). He received a grant through Cambridge and employed the experts of the fields in which he intended to write deeper into. -
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Darwin's Field Studies
During this time frame, Darwin spent much of his time in the field creating new works detailing various species. Most notably, was his piece on barnacles and their sexual differentiation. He there developed his interest in the evolution of diverging male and female forms from an originally hermaphrodite creature. Due to this study, he became the world expert on the subject and received the Royal Society's Royal Medal in 1853. Thus began Darwin's revered intellect in evolutionary theory. -
Darwin's Publication On The Origin of Species
This was perhaps Darwin's most published and read work of his life. Lucky enough for Darwin, there was a paradigm shift within England and the acceptance of outlier scientific thinkers straying from religion. This is where Darwin perfected his natural selection theory with the artificial selection theory. Image from: link text -
Darwin's Later Years
During the 1860's, Darwin was plagued with debilitating illnesses. He remained in the Down House infirmary his attendant nurse Emma looked after him. The house was also a lab, where he continued experimenting. It was also during this time (in 1868) he published In Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. Image from: link text -
The End of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin suffered from angina, and was quoted saying, “Down graveyard as the sweetest place on earth.” In March of 1882 he had a seizure, and subsequently in April, had a heart attack. Darwin was laid to rest on April 26, 1882. In attendance were noble scientists and individua's of the state. Image of Darwin in 1874, published posthumously.
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Citation and Refrences
All text citation and references from:
Desmond, Adrian J. “The Life of Charles Darwin.” Britannica, Britannica Encylopedia, www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Darwin/Evolution-by-natural-selection-the-London-years-1836-42. Accessed 27 June 2021.