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Charles Darwin was born in the town of Shrewsbury, England. He was the second youngest of six children and descended from a family of scientist. -
In October 1825, Charles Darwin enrolled at Edinburgh University at the age of 16. His father hoped he would follow his footsteps in becoming a Physician, however, the sight of blood made Charles squeamish. Charles decided to change his education and follow his passion in Natural History. -
Two years after his enrollment at the University of Edinburgh, Charles pursued his passion of theology and natural history at Christ's College in Cambridge. While there, John Henslow, a professor in botony, became his mentor. -
Charles graduated from Christ University in 1831 with a bachelor's degree of arts. His mentor, John Henslow, recommended him to become a naturalist of the HMS Beagle, where he departed 27 December 1831 with the main purpose of surveying South America and its harbors, in order to better chart the region. -
While on mission with the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin had the opportunity to observe a variety of principles relating to zoology, botany, and geology. Some of the destinations visited were Chile and Brazil. The sites that Charles found most interesting were The Pacific Islands and Galapagos. All throughout the journey, Charles took notes and samples ranging from plants and animals to fossils.
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In 1836 Charles returned to England. He began compiling his investigations and sending notes along with fossils and other data to paleontologist and geologist. This helped lead to understanding some of earth's processes by other scientist. Further analysis of this data started to pave the way for Darwin's famous theory of Natural Selection. -
After years of investigation, Charles purposed his theory of evolution to the Linnean Society in 1858. In November 1859, Charles Darwin published, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection", his most famous work. This was significant and caused a major paradigm shift in how it was believed that a species was the same throughout time and didn't change. Charles purposed that a species will change (evolve) and adapt in order to better survive in its environment over time.
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Charles Darwin died in his family home in Downe, England at the age of seventy-three. He was later buried at Westminster Abby in London, England. -
Citations: "Charles Darwin Biography." The Biography.Com Website, 3 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/scientists/charles-darwin. Accessed 23 Sept. 2023. "Charles Darwin." National Geographic, 19 May 2022, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/charles-darwin/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023.