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Charles Darwin was born
Charles was born in Shrewsberry, Shropshire, at his family's home, The Mount. He was the fifth of six children to Robert and Susannah Darwin. -
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Darwin goes to Edinburgh University
In the Autumn of 1825, Charles Darwin attends Edinburgh University to study medicine. During his time there, he joins the Plinian Society, where he meets his most influential mentor, Robert Grant. -
Darwin Sets Sail
After leaving Edinburgh, taking a short break, and then attending Cambridge, Darwin is finally ready to set sail on the Beagle. The HMS Beagle was a Navy ship, that set sail to survey the coast of South America. Darwin began his journey as a 'supernumerary' (an extra passenger), and later became a naturalist. -
The Galapagos Islands
The voyage of the Beagle from 1831 to 1836. In the year of 1835, the Beagle came upon the Galapagos Islands. The Beagle remained docked at the islands for five weeks, in this time Darwin explored. -
Returning to the UK
As the voyage on the Beagle came to an end, they returned to the UK. When Darwin returned, he took that time to go over and reanalyze the specimens and the observations he took while on the islands. Among his specimens were various plants, animals and geological samples. -
Darwin's First Book
Darwin's first book was published, "Journal of Researches", more widely known as "The Voyage of the Beagle". "The Voyage of the Beagle" recounts Darwin's journey of the Galapagos Islands and his observations as the ship's naturalist when he was aboard the HMS Beagle. -
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Barnacles and the Big Book
For eight years, Darwin devoted his time to studying about barnacles, a small marine life creature that attaches itself to the underside of boats. He was first introduced to this creature on his voyage with the Beagle. After publishing four volumes about living and fossilized barnacles, Darwin returned to studying and theorizing about species evolution. During this time, he wrote the "Big Book", which is about species transmutation. -
The Origin of Species
The Origin of Species was published. A book that at the time, would become one of the most significant texts of modern science. Containing no foot notes, the Origin of Species was an abstract of Darwin's Big Book. Darwin was fifty-one years old when it was published. -
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Darwin's Later Years
In the later years of his life, Darwin went on to continue his research and writing, publishing five more editions of the Origin of Species and the more works related to species evolution. In addition to these publications, Darwin also published seven volumes specifically on plants and worms. Here, you can find a complete bibliography of all of Darwin's published works. -
Darwin's Death
After suffering from a heart condition for many years, Darwin passed in his home at the age of seventy-three. He was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, London, next to Isaac Newton.