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Charles Darwin is born. He is Robert Waring Darwin & Susannah Wedgwood's fifth child.
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Darwin sets sail on the Beagle Voyage, a trip to South America and around the world. On this voyage, Darwin served as a naturalist (someone who studies natural history). Specimens and observations made on this journey contributed to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. There was discovery of hundreds of fossils or extinct animals.
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Following the Beagle Voyage, Darwin continued to study life based of observations and discoveries made on board. This is the year that he came to the idea of natural selection.
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Darwin refined his theories on evolution and natural selection. During this time period, he continued to gather information that would support his theory. (1840s-1850s)
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Began drafting a 35 page sketch of his theory of natural selection and expanded it throughout the years
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Because of Emma’s reaction, Darwin wrote Emma a letter requesting that in case of his sudden death, she should pay an editor £400 to publish his work
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Darwin began spending a lot, even more time, drafting his work in order to present it to the public and scientific community
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Publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, of the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life In this scientific literature, Darwin outlined that populations of various species evolve over long time spans. He wrote that over the generations, life has gone through the means of natural selection (idea that only the strong survive). In his writing, it was also said diversity of life branches into multiple categories and variations rather than as a series.
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Publication of The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals This was another example of scientific literature. His goal was to break the barrier that people believed to exist between humans and animals, highlighting that emotions were not limited to only humans.
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Charles Darwin dies in Downe, Kent (a village in England). Parliament voted to allow his burial in Westminster Abbey, a great honor for Darwin.
