Charles Darwin / Born 1809 / Died 1882

  • Schooling

    1825, at age 16, went to medical school at Edinburgh University in Scotland (National Geographic Society). It turned out that Darwin could not stand the sight of blood and left medical school and went to Cambridge to study theology. (National Geographic Society)
  • Period: to

    HMS Beagle

    In 1831 embarked on the HMS Beagle as a naturalist. The primary purpose of the trip was to survey the coastline of South America and chart its harbors to make better maps of the region. (National Geographic Society
  • Galapagos Islands

    Darwin reaches the Galapagos Islands. Here he preserved many fossils, rocks, plants and animals and sent them back to England for further evaluation. With these preserved samples he will develop the theory of Natural Selection.
  • Other Contenders to the Theory of Evolution

    Little known was the fact that Charles Darwin was not the first to develop a theory of Evolution. In 1858 Alfred Wallace sent a letter to Darwin outlining his own theory of evolution. Darwin and Wallace would work together and develop the theory of natural selection and the famous book On the Origin of the Species. Wallace later would disappear, and all the credit goes to Charles Darwin. (National Geographic Society)
  • What is Natural Selection

    The theory of natural selection proposes that the "fittest" individual organism - those with the characteristics best suited to their environment - are more likely to survive and reproduce" (Lotzof).
  • Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species

    This book convinced many people that species change over time - a lot of time - suggesting the planet was much older than what was commonly believed at the time: six thousand years.
  • Link to you tube video on Charles Darwin

  • References

    1. National Geographic Society. "Charles Darwin. "National Geographic Society, 23 Aug. 2019. www.national geographic.org/encyclopedia.charles-darwin/.
    2. Lotzof, Kerry. "Charles Darwin: History's Most Famous Biologist:
      Nhm.ac.uk,2018, www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/charles- darwin-most-famous-biologist.html.