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Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. A small country town in western England.
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Darwin at the age of 22 set sail on the HMS Beagle on a voyage that would change Darwin's life forever. This voyage would aid in the development of the theory Darwin would argue the rest of his life.
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Throughout the voyage on the HMS Beagle Darwin was able to venture off on his own and discover new and exciting places and things. Some of the things that he enjoyed the most was finding fossils of animals that he was unfamiliar with. Many times on Darwin's adventures he would return to the ship with fossils of unknown animals. This and the observations of the changes in the land were the starting point for Darwin's Theories.
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In September of 1835 Darwin and the crew landed on the Galapagos Islands. Some believe that at this moment Darwin had his "Eureka" moment that led him to his theory of evolution. Although this was not the eureka moment for Darwin that everyone believes it was it was the first time that he began to recognize the differences between birds and other animals on each of the islands. Locals of the island pointed out the differences in the tortoises on each island to Darwin.
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When the Voyage ended Darwin left the ship with multitudes of skins bones and other collections from the voyage. Along with all this Darwin completed a journal of 770 pages, a collection of notes totaling 1750 pages, and 12 catalogues of the bones and skins that he collected.
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By January 1837 Darwin became a member of the Geological Society and was deep in the study of Geology. Darwin began studying the rising Chilean Coastline.
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Darwin is still considered the most influential man of modern science. Although this may be true he had a greater influence on his time and the ideological change that needed to happen so to give way to modern science. Darwin was a innovator and realist in a time that looked at people like him as outkast and skum. Darwin worked tirelessly to develop a theory that he could show to the people what he saw in nature and how he saw it. He allowed people to have a different view.
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Darwin developed his theory of evolution in the privacy of his home during the years of 1837-1839 after a long research voyage aboard the HMS Beagle on Dec.27 1831. In 1837 Darwin started to develop his theory more in depth with the findings of John Gould a leading Zoologist of the time. Gould determined that the birds of the Islands were not different species like Darwin believed but were in fact all Ground Finches that had adapted to their environment.
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Darwin Spent his life hiding from society and developing his theories in secret in order to save his family and himself from public ridicule. When in the end Darwin was able to present his theories and became a great contributor to the the scientific revolution. Even though Darwin's theories are still widely debated and even ridiculed he still had one of the greatest contributions to modern science.
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Darwin moved to the Highlands of Scotland due to the stress of hiding his theories in the mainstream society of London. While in Scotland Darwin did not forget about his theories but continued to hide them and appier to study the topics of rising and falling land masses. During this time Darwin began his own ultra radical phase of his life and suggested that belief in God was an ingrained tribal survival strategy.
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In 1839 Darwin gained faim from the publication of his diary. He aptly named the publication "Journal of researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries visited by the HMS Beagle". Along with this Darwin published " Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Beagle" through the years of 1838-43. It was a description of the specimens he collected throughout his voyage.
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In 1839 Darwin Married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. Darwin was said to have researched and listed the Pros and Cons of Marriage and the impacts of it on the evolution of his offspring. Darwin attempted to reveal his research to his new wife. She reacted with strict disdain to the idea and Darwin again realized that he must keep his theory hidden for now.
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By the end of 1839 Darwin had completed his research on the Theory of Transmutation later to be known as the Theory of Evolution.
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In 1842 Darwin drafted and 35 page sketch of his theory. In 1844 Darwin expanded upon the 1842 draft but was still had no intention of publishing his theory during his life. Darwin wrote a letter to his wife Emma to have the draft published on the event of Darwin's death.
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The 1850's in England opened the door for Darwin to bring out his hidden theories. Society was becoming more relaxed and open to new theories and ideas. In April of 1856 Darwin began writing a triple-volume book that was tentatively named "Natural Selection". Darwin continued to write this book until its completion on July 1 1858.
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Darwin did not release his theory fully until November 22 1859 in the publication "On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection" a book that has greatly influenced modern Western Society. Throughout the remainder of Darwin's life he would publish many more works that would continue to confirm his theories and refute his opposers.
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During the 1860's Darwin's theories continued to grow in popularity and were becoming widely accepted throughout Europe.
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In 1871 Darwin Published "The Descent Of man, and Selection in Relation to Sex". This was a 2 volume book that discussed the evolution of civilization and human origins among the Old world Monkeys. Stating that like birds and other animals humans use features of the opposite sex to determine a suitable mate.
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From 1876-1881 Darwin wrote his Autobiography. This work was for his grandchildren and not meant for publication. Darwin was very candid throughout the work and expressed his dislike of christian myths and eternal torment.
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Darwin passed away after a long and productive life in Down, Kent, England. Darwin was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
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