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Birth
Born in Shrewsbury, England -
School Boy Charles
Charles Darwin attended a local school where at the time he took what was considered traditional classes. The classes were associated with Ancient Greek and Latin, which he struggled with. He was very interested in science. His grandfather had made contributions to the scientific idea of evolution. Charles’ brother kept a chemistry lab in their garden tool-house. Charles worked on experiments with him all the time. The school frowned upon the study of Chemistry though. -
Edinburgh & Cambridge
Charles attended the University of Edinburg as a medical student. Charles’ father wanted him to follow in his footsteps, but Charles hated medical school. He began slacking in school and his father then put a stop to his attendance. Shortly after Charles was sent to the University of Cambridge. His father hoped he would become Church of England clergyman, but he enrolled in Bachelor of Arts and three years later received his degree. He then decided he wanted to expand his knowledge and travel. -
The Voyage Begins
The first book that made Charles interested in traveling was Wonders of the World, then he read a few others that really sparked his interest and he then began The Voyage of the Beagle. Charles took on the role as a naturalist aboard one of the British Royal Navy’s survey ships. During this time he was able to collect specimens to bring back home. He returned to England in October of 1836. Darwin had discovered 12 new finch species and a new groups of finches while on his voyage. -
Evolution
Charles Darwin is known for his work on the Origin of Species and the Theory of Evolution. While Charles was on his voyage he really began to question how different species were formed. Darwin kept a notebook with theories about plants and animals and by this time he knew that species could evolve. In 1842 he wrote a paper that became known as evolution by natural selection. Natural selection is basically weeding out the weak and breeding the species that thrives the most. -
Evolution (Continued)
Darwin was not the only one with this theory though. Alfred Russel Wallace was also working on the same subject and had the same evidence and presented it to Darwin. They then combined it to the Darwin-Wallace paper and presented their theories as a joint effort. -
On the Orgin of Species
On the Origin of Species was made available to the public. 1250 copies were sold immediately. Over time he updated the book and eventually had six different editions. In 1871 Darwin presented the theory that humans are animals and that we are descendants from apes. "Charles Darwin." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 15 Nov. 2015. Web. 10/21/2018
<www.famousscientists.org/charles-darwin/>. -
Death
At age 73 Darwin experienced heart failure and passed away. -
Darwin Video