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Introduction
Full name Charles Robert Darwin. Born on 12 February 1809. English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies. -
Early life and Education
Darwin was the second son of society doctor Robert Waring Darwin and Susannah Wedgwood. His headmaster condemned Darwin for dabbling in chemistry. He was nicknamed "Gas" by his classmates. His father sent him to Edinburgh University to study medicine in 1825. He loathed anatomy, and surgery sickened him. His father would switch him to Christ's College in 1828. -
Marriage
Charles Darwin marries Emma Wedgewood, his first cousin. Their first child, William Erasmus, was born on December 27th. -
Publishes Coral Reefs
Darwin's Theory on coral reefs is as follows: in clean, agitated, tropical seas, corals will form fringing reefs just below low tide level. For example, this may happen if the island is an active volcano. This type of reef should persist, but as soon as the living coral is raised above the surf, it will die and become a strip of white limestone. The coral reef was the first brick laid on the foundations of a revolutionary view of life. -
Writes Volcanic Island
In Charles Darwin's subsidence model, the formation of an atoll is explained by the subsidence of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. -
Geological Observations on South American is Published
Darwin voiced skeptical support for the "crater of elevation" theory. The theory proposed that volcanoes were not the product of lavas but were pushed up from within. Darwin later rejected the idea when sufficient evidence was demonstrated by the geologist Charles Lyell to disprove it. -
Death
Darwin's eldest daughter Anna dies. -
The Royal Society
The Royal Society awarded Darwin their Royal Medal for his work on barnacles. -
Origin of Species
Darwin's theory of evolution is based on critical facts. Every species is fertile; all offspring survive to reproduce. Populations remain roughly the same size. Resources such as food are limited and are relatively stable over time. Struggle for survival ensues. Much of this variation is heritable—the process of natural selection. -
Awarded
Darwin was awarded the Copley medal of the Royal Society after being nominated three years running. This is the source of much debate; the Origin of Species was omitted from the award. -
The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication
The book contains detailed information on the domestication of animals and plants, but it also includes a description of Darwin's theory of heredity, which is called pangenesis. -
The Descent of Man is Published
This book includes evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, evolutionary musicology, the difference between human races, differences between sexes, the dominant role of women in mate choice, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society. -
Death of Darwin
After suffering a heart attack on Christmas, followed by seizures, Charles Darwin dies, in great suffering, at Down House. He was later buried in Westminster Abbey. -
Evolution by Natural Selection
Virtualschooluk, director. YouTube, YouTube, 4 Apr. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s64Y8sVYfFY. Accessed 25 June 2022.