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Birth of Charles Darwin
Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in a tiny town England called Shrewsbury. He was the second youngest of six children. Darwin came from a long line of scientists: His father, Dr. R.W. Darwin, was a medical doctor, his grandfather a botanist. Darwins's mother, Susanna, died when he was eight years old. Also when he was eight years old, he already had a taste for natural history and collecting at school. Early on he discovered his love of all things natural and became an avid collector. -
Early Education for Charles
At age sixteen, Darwin enrolled at Edinburgh University to study medicine that were accompanied by Eras doing his external hospital study. Darwin attended University lectures, but complained that most were stupid and very boring. He also found himself too sensitive to the sight of blood. He regularly attended clinical wards in the hospital despite his great distress about some of the cases, but could only bear to attend surgical operations twice before rushing away before anesthetics. -
Charles Darwin's First Scientific Speech
Darwin made a new discovery new to science when he observed cilia moving through the microscopic larvae that is a species of the Bryzoan Flustra. He rushed to tell Grant, confirming Grant's belief that the larvae of these marine animals were free swimming, but was very upset when Grant claimed the findings of the same work. Darwin also made the discovery that black spores often found in oyster shells were the eggs of skate leech, and was very disappointed when Grant announced both findings. -
Attends The University of Cambridge
His father was unhappy that Darwin would not be able to become a physician and "was very properly vehement against my turning an idle sporting man, which seemed my probable destination." He then enrolled Charles at Christ's College in Cambridge for a Bachelor of Arts degree as a qualification required before taking a specialized divinity course and becoming an Anglican parson. -
Voyage on the HMS Beagle
While Darwin was at Christ's College, his botany professor, John Henslow became his mentor. After Darwin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1831, Henslow recommended him a naturalist's position on the HMS Beagle. It was a five-year trip around the world. The HMS Beagle launched and over the course of the trip, Darwin collected a variety of natural specimens. He had the opportunity to observe the principles of botany, geology, and zoology. -
The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle
When Darwin finally returned to England from his voyage, he began to write up his findings in the Journal of Researchers, published as part of the HMS Beagle's Captain FitzRoy's larger narrative and later edited into the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle. The trip had a monumental effect on Darwin's view of natural history. He began to develop a revolutionary theory about the origin of living beings that was contrary to the popular view of other naturalists at the time. -
The Royal Society of London
When Darwin was elected as a fellow member of the Royal Society of London, he considered Malthus's argument that human population increases more quickly than food production, leaving people competing for food and making charity useless. He later formulated this in his terms of his biological theory as: "Man tends to increase at a greater rate than his means of subsistence; he occasionally subjected to a severe struggle for existence, and natural selection will lie within its scope." -
Receiving the Royal Medal
Charles Darwin received the Royal Medal of the Royal Society, the highest honor the society could present on a scientist. The medal was awarded for his three volume work on the geology of the Beagle voyage, and also for his barnacle research that is currently in progress. Darwin leaped for joy at the news and was very proud that his peers had come to his work. He resumed his work afterwards on his theory of species and realized that divergence in character could be explained. -
The Origin of Species
On the Origin of Species proved unexpectedly popular, with the entire stock of 1,250 copies oversubscribed when it went on sale to booksellers. Darwin set out "one long argument" of detailed observations, inferences and consideration of anticipated objections. His only allusion to human evolution was the understatement that :light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history". -
The Death of Charles Darwin
Charles passed away at the Down House. He had expected to be buried in St Mary's churchyard at Down, but the request of Darwin's colleagues, William Spottiswoode (President of the Royal Society) arranged for Darwin to be given a state funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Issac Newton. Darwin was perceived as a national hero who had changed thinking, and scientists now accepted evolution as descent with modification.
